•  ":.;• 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 
The  Faiths  of  Mankind 


THE 
RELIGIONS  OF  MANKIND 


BY 
EDMUND  DAVISON  SOPER 

Profesior  of  the  History  of  Religion  in  Northwestern  University 


THE  ABINGDON  PRESS 
NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
EDMUND  DAVISON  SOPER 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


First  Edition  Printed  April,  1921 
Reprinted  October,  1921 ;  October,  1922 


To  MY  MOTHER 


3  < 9718 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE 9 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  NATURE  OF  RELIGION 

THE  APPROACH  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  RELIGION n 

THE  FITTING  ATTITUDE  TOWARD  OTHER  FAITHS 13 

THE  DEFINITION  OF  RELIGION 16 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  RELIGION 26 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  RELIGION 36 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 44 

CHAPTER  II 
ANIMISTIC  RELIGION 

ANIMISTIC  PEOPLES  AND  THEIR  HABITAT 45 

ANIMISM  AND  THE  MYSTERIOUS  POWER 50 

THE  HIGHER  POWERS  OF  ANIMISTIC  RELIGION 53 

TOTEMISM  AND  TABU 64 

ANIMISTIC  WORSHIP 68 

MAGIC  AND  RELIGION 75 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 79 

CHAPTER  III 
EGYPT  AND  MESOPOTAMIA 

THE  NILE  VALLEY  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS 80 

THE  EGYPTIAN  PANTHEON 85 

THE  INDIVIDUAL  HERE  AND  HEREAFTER 91 

THE  GODS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 96 

MAN'S  APPROACH  TO  THE  DIVINE  POWERS 101 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 104 

CHAPTER  IV 
GREECE  AND  ROME 

RELIGION  BEFORE  HOMER 106 

THE  HOMERIC  CONTRIBUTION no 

THE  MYSTERIES 113 

THE  PHILOSOPHERS 116 

EARLY  ROMAN  RELIGION  . .  .120 


4  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  CONTACT  WITH  GREECE 124 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  EAST 128 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 133 

CHAPTER  V 
THE  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER 

THE  INDO-EUROPEANS  AND  THEIR  RELIGION 135 

ZOROASTER  AND  His  REFORMATION 139 

DEVELOPMENT  SINCE  ZOROASTER 144 

THE  PARSIS  OF  THE  PRESENT  DAY 147 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 152 

CHAPTER  VI 
HINDUISM 

THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  VEDAS 153 

THE  PHILOSOPHIC  DEVELOPMENT 159 

THE  CASTE  SYSTEM 164 

HINDUISM  SINCE  THE  RISE  OF  BUDDHISM 169 

MODERN  REFORM  MOVEMENTS 174 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 179 

CHAPTER  VII 
BUDDHISM 

GAUTAMA  THE  BUDDHA 180 

EARLY  BUDDHISM 187 

HlNAYANA  AND  MAHAYANA 197 

BUDDHISM  AMONG  THE  PEOPLES 204 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 212 

CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE 

THE  EARLY  RELIGION 213 

CONFUCIUS  AND  His  CONTRIBUTION 219 

LAOCIUS  AND  TAOISM 227 

CHINESE  BUDDHISM 230 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 234 

CHAPTER  IX 
THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN 

SHINTO 235 

THE  COMING  OF  BUDDHISM 240 

THE  ADOPTION  OF  CONFUCIANISM 250 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 256 


CONTENTS  5 

CHAPTER  X 
JUDAISM  PAGE 

THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  SEMITES 257 

THE  HERITAGE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 261 

JUDAISM  SINCE  THE  TIME  OF  CHRIST 265 

ORTHODOXY  AND  REFORM 271 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 275 

CHAPTER  XI 

MOHAMMEDANISM 

THE  PROPHET 276 

FAITH  AND  PRACTICE 286 

ISLAM  IN  HISTORY 295 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 303 

CHAPTER  XII 

CHRISTIANITY 

JESUS  CHRIST 304 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  LIFE  AND  TEACHING 311 

THE  CHURCH  AND  ITS  EXPANSION 320 

THE  GROUND  OF  ITS  APPEAL 328 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 330 

INDEX 331 


PREFACE 

A  SMALL  book  was  published  in  1918  entitled  The  Faiths 
of  Mankind.  It  belonged  to  a  series  of  College  Voluntary 
Study  Courses,  and  was  prepared  with  that  end  in  view. 
Since  that  time  the  desire  has  been  repeatedly  expressed 
that  the  writer  prepare  a  volume  with  a  wider  public  in 
view.  The  needs  of  the  general  reader  and  ministers  were 
to  be  kept  in  mind  as  well  as  students  in  their  college  and 
seminary  courses.  Coming  directly  out  of  contact  with 
students  in  the  classroom,  it  is  inevitable  that  the  form  of  the 
present  book  and  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  material 
should  be  determined  by  that  experience. 

The  guiding  principle  has  been  not  to  overload  the  text 
with  a  multiplicity  of  facts,  but  to  select  and  make  use  of 
such  facts  as  are  relevant  to  the  main  lines  of  development, 
and  to  make  clear  their  meaning  and  relationships.  To  inter- 
pret facts  has  been  looked  upon  as  important  as  to  present 
them.  One  of  the  main  problems  with  students  is  to  prevent 
the  confusion  which  results  from  presenting  great  quantities 
of  material  which  they  are  not  prepared  to  assimilate  and 
make  use  of  intelligently. 

An  introductory  chapter  on  "The  Nature  of  Religion" 
has  been  included.  No  doubt  such  a  subject  can  only  be 
handled  with  satisfaction  in  a  volume  devoted  to  its  consid- 
eration, but  even  a  rapid^  survey  as  is  presented  here  may 
introduce  the  student  to  the  subject  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
make  far  more  intelligible  than  would  otherwise  be  possible 
the  studies  of  religions  which  follow.  The  historical  method 
is  adhered  to  throughout.  The  underlying  purpose  has  been 
to  show  how  religion  has  developed  in  the  history  of  the 
world  rather  than  to  trace  the  development  of  any  single 

7 


8  PREFACE 

religion.  Of  course,  the  latter  has  been  done  in  each  case, 
but  with  the  desire  of  showing  how  it  has  fitted  into  the 
growth  of  religion  as  a  phase  of  human  life.  This  has 
made  necessary  the  inclusion  of  chapters  on  ancient  religions 
which  have  passed  away  but  which  made  their  contribution 
to  the  progress  of  religion  in  the  world.  The  attempt  has 
not  been  made  to  deal  with  all  the  religions  of  the  past  or 
present.  The  ends  sought  could  be  reached  by  a  presenta- 
tion of  the  great  typical  systems,  and  that  has  been  done. 

The  lists  of  books  at  the  end  of  the  chapters  are  exceed- 
ingly short.  Bibliographies  frequently  offer  such  an  array 
of  titles  that  students  scarcely  know  which  way  to  turn. 
The  lists  have  been  pruned  down  to  the  minimum.  Should 
further  references  be  desired,  they  are  ready  at  hand  in 
many  of  the  volumes  given.  The  volumes  of  the  History  of 
Religions,  by  Professor  George  Foot  Moore  have  been 
listed  in  connection  with  all  the  chapters  save  the  first  two. 
As  the  standard  work  in  English  they  should  be  at  the  dis- 
posal of  any  reader  who  desires  to  proceed  any  distance 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  present  text.  Mention  should  also 
be  made  of  Dr.  James  Hastings'  Encyclopaedia  of  Religion 
and  Ethics,  a  monumental  work  now  nearing  completion 
and  covering  every  phase  of  the  subject.  Reference  has 
not  been  made  to  this  work  in  the  lists  of  books  because  the 
items  would  have  been  too  numerous  for  our  space.  But  it 
is  the  most  valuable  work  on  the  subject,  and  should,  if  pos- 
sible, be  available  to  every  reader  and  student. 

The  writer  has  laid  a  heavy  obligation  on  himself  to  be 
fair  to  each  religion  he  has  treated.  He  cannot  hope  to  have 
been  completely  successful,  despite  his  endeavor  to  present 
each  faith  in  the  light  of  all  the  available  facts.  Yet  this  has 
been  his  purpose,  a  purpose  none  the  less  strong  because 
Jesus  Christ  is  to  him  the  light  of  all  his  seeing  and  the 
only  hope  he  is  able  to  discover  for  the  peoples  of  the  world 
in  this  day  of  change  and  reconstruction. 

The  thanks  of  the  author  are  due  the  publishers  of  vol- 


PREFACE  9 

umes  from  which  quotations  have  been  used  in  this  work. 
Credit  is  given  in  each  case  in  a  footnote  where  the  volume 
is  quoted. 

Evanston,  Illinois.  E.  D.  S. 

March  30,  1921. 


I  take  the  opportunity  offered  by  the  call  for  a  new  edition 
(the  third)  to  make  needed  corrections  and  changes.  I  am 
debtor  to  indulgent  friends  and  reviewers  for  their  sugges- 
tions. All  criticisms  have  been  carefully  considered  even 
where  I  have  not  been  able  to  see  my  way  clear  to  make  the 
changes  suggested. 

April  4,  1922.  E.  D.  S. 


CHAPTER   I 
THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION 

THE  APPROACH  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  RELIGION 

As  far  back  as  history  and  archaeology  are  able  to  pene- 
trate into  the  dim  beginnings  of  human  life  man  had  a  reli- 
gion. From  these  primitive  times  down  to  the  present  reli- 
gion has  been  playing  its  part  at  every  stage  in  the  course  of 
human  development.  To  understand  any  people  or  any  manx 
to  trace  the  history  of  civilization  or  the  growth  of  a  custom, 
religion  must  be  called  in  to  give  its  testimony,  or  we  fail  to 
probe  the  deepest  springs  of  conduct  and  the  controlling 
forces  of  human  endeavor.  The  issues  of  life  are  deter- 
mined far  down  among  the  impulses  and  motives  with  which 
religion  deals  most  powerfully  and  directly.  The  contribu- 
tion religion  has  made  to  human  progress  makes  it  impera- 
tive that  it  should  be  studied  with  great  care.  The  pitfalls 
are  many,  and  misconceptions  are  difficult  to  avoid.  A  little 
knowledge  of  religion  is  a  dangerous  thing,  especially  if  it  is 
made  to  support  theories  which  might  topple  if  brought  into 
contact  with  all  the  facts  in  the  case.  The  very  seriousness 
of  the  issues  involved  calls  for  thoroughness  and  applica- 
tion, even  in  the  understanding  of  what  may  at  first  sight 
seem  to  be  unimportant  details.  Only  by  such  devotion  can 
the  student  hope  to  learn  from  an  investigation  of  religion 
the  lessons  most  surely  awaiting  appropriation  and  use. 

There  are  two  ways  of  studying  the  religion  of  a  people. 
One  might  be  called  the  method  of  immediate  contact,  as 
when  a  traveler  or  a  resident  in  a  country  uses  his  eyes  and 
ears  to  learn  all  he  can  about  the  religion  as  practiced  at  the 
present  time.  He  visits  temples  and  sacred  places,  watches 
the  worship,  and  pays  careful  attention  to  the  ritual,  asks 

ii 


12  THE'RELGICXNs'-'OP    MANKIND 

questions  of  all  from  whom  he  can  secure  information,  takes 
account  of  the  effect  of  the  religion  on  life,  and  in  these  and 
other  ways  seeks  to  come  to  conclusions  which  correctly 
interpret  the  religion.  This  method  of  study  is  obviously 
indispensable  wherever  it  can  be  applied.  Certain  religions, 
like  those  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  have  died  and 
passed  away.  In  these  cases  no  living  touch  is  possible  and 
we  are  compelled  to  resort  to  the  evidence  of  archaeology 
and  literature.  But  even  with  the  living  religions  much 
investigation  is  still  necessary  before  enough  dependable 
material  is  at  hand  to  draw  conclusions  which  shall  be  at 
the  same  time  correct  and  comprehensive. 

But  more  is  needed  than  this  work  of  description.  An- 
other method  must  be  called  in  to  supplement  and  correct 
the  impressions  which  have  come  through  immediate  contact 
with  the  people  and  their  religious  life.  It  may  be  called 
the  method  of  historical  investigation.  What  is  desired  is 
that  the  entire  story  of  a  religion  shall  be  told  from  its 
beginnings,  so  far  as  they  can  be  ascertained,  through  all 
the  vicissitudes  of  its  development,  to  the  religion  as  it  is 
after  all  the  storms  and  contests  through  which  it  has 
passed.  A  religion  cannot  be  fully  explained  by  what  lies 
just  at  hand.  It  has  a  past  and  this  past  has  made  the  pres- 
ent what  it  is.  Every  belief  and  practice  has  its  history  and 
cannot  be  understood  without  a  knowledge  of  the  stages  of 
its  development.  What  could  we  know  of  Christianity  with- 
out the  Gospels,  or  of  Mohammedanism  without  the  Koran? 
And  what  could  we  know  of  present-day  Protestantism  with 
no  knowledge  of  the  Reformation?  or  of  the  Buddhism  of 
Japan,  ignorant  of  the  long  journey  of  the  faith  from  India 
through  China  and  Korea  to  the  Island  Empire? 

The  only  conclusion  to  be  reached  is  that  both  methods 
must  be  used,  each  shedding  light  on  the  other.  In  the 
study  of  the  religion  of  the  most  backward  peoples,  who 
have  neither  literature  nor  history,  the  only  approach  is  by 
living  contact,  and  among  the  most  valuable  contributions  to 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  13 

the  whole  science  of  religion  have  been  the  volumes  coming 
from  devoted  and  self-sacrificing  investigators  who  have 
spent  years  in  close  contact  with  these  savage  tribes.  In 
every  case,  whether  the  study  be  historical  or  through  con- 
tact with  the  people,  the  rule  must  be  to  let  no  bit  of  evi- 
dence pass  unheeded,  but  to  allow  each  fact  to  appear  in  its 
true  light  and  speak  out  its  full  message.  Only  by  such 
impartial  procedure  is  it  possible  to  arrive  at  results  which 
shall  carry  weight  among  candid  students  who  are  seeking 
the  exact  truth  with  reference  to  the  religions  of  the  world. 

THE  FITTING  ATTITUDE  TOWARD  OTHER  FAITHS 

This  is  a  practical  problem.  As  students  we  are  bound 
to  be  fair  in  our  study  of  other  religions,  but  we  are  more 
than  students.  Born  in  a  Christian  land  and  nurtured  in  an 
atmosphere  which  is  a  part  of  our  common  heritage,  it  is 
inevitable  that  we  should  have  a  Christian  bias.  Whether 
the  student  is  himself  a  professing  Christian  or  not,  it  makes 
little  difference;  he  cannot  divest  himself  of  a  certain  bent 
of  mind  which  has  come  to  him  as  naturally  as  washing  his 
face  and  hands  before  breakfast.  If  to  be  fair-minded  in- 
volves erasing  from  his  mind  his  prepossessions  and  convic- 
tions, then  fair-mindedness  is  a  fond  dream.  It  is  as  impos- 
sible for  one  man  as  for  another;  we  are  all  alike  in  this 
regard.  Whatever  we  do  and  wherever  we  go,  we  carry  our 
convictions  with  us,  and  they  must  be  taken  into  account. 
The  important  question  is,  How  shall  we  deal  with  them 
that  we  may  be  fair-minded  and  free  from  unreasoning 
prejudice? 

Such  a  thing  is  not  easily  done,  nor  does  it  come  all  at 
once.  One  must  set  himself  resolutely  through  a  consid- 
erable period  to  weigh  evidence  with  scrupulous  care,  and 
not  allow  his  conclusions  to  be  vitiated  by  personal  bias. 
By  such  a  course  of  training  one  may  be  able  to  formulate 
his  personal  equation,  like  the  astronomical  observer.  In 
other  words,  he  may  come  to  understand  what  his  prejudices 


I4  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

are  and  how  far  they  tend  to  warp  his  judgment.  He  will 
come  to  understand  himself  better  as  time  passes  and  be  able 
more  readily  to  know  when  he  is  approaching  his  danger 
line.  He  will  thus  be  able  so  to  keep  a  check  on  himself 
that  he  may  see  things  as  they  are,  and  give  each  fact  and, 
in  a  larger  way,  each  religion  its  correct  valuation,  not  dis- 
torted by  unscientific  dogmatism  and  prejudice. 

This  is  not  a  natural  gift;  it  is  an  achievement,  but  the 
achievement  becomes  a  sacred  duty  when  one  gives  himself 
to  the  delicate  balancing  of  men's  religious  beliefs  and  prac- 
tices. Instead  of  being  a  liability,  the  possession  of  a  Chris- 
tian experience  may  prove  to  be  an  important  asset.  One's 
ability  to  enter  sympathetically  into  the  religious  life  of 
men  of  other  faiths  depends  largely  on  the  possession  of  a 
religious  experience  himself.  The  fierceness  of  the  conflict 
with  evil  and  the  consciousness  of  victory  in  the  moral 
battle  fit  him  the  better  to  enter  into  the  lives  of  others. 
The  sense  of  God's  presence  in  his  heart  and  the  belief  in 
his  goodness  enable  him  the  more  completely  to  understand 
what  is  going  on  in  the  minds  of  other  men,  though  the  con- 
tent of  their  belief  may  differ  widely  from  his  own. 

The  Christian  student  may  join  heartily  with  any  student 
of  religion,  whatever  his  personal  belief,  in  insisting  that  in 
the  interpretation  of  the  facts  of  religion  the  natural  expla- 
nation must  always  be  sought.  Without  this  principle  vig- 
orously applied  no  science  of  religion  can  be  built  up.  '  To 
reach  the  point  of  willingness  to  allow  everything  in  reli- 
gion, including  all  we  hold  most  sacred  in  our  own  faith, 
to  be  exposed  to  the  searchlight  of  historical  and  scientific 
investigation  is  a  real  achievement  of  faith.  It  is  only  a 
want  of  faith  that  would  hedge  in  certain  sacred  spots  with 
a  high  barrier  and  forbid  scientific  investigation  within  the 
proscribed  inclosure.  It  is  an  admission  of  fear  that  science 
might  dissolve  what  is  held  sacred  and  that  religion  might 
disappear  in  the  brightness  of  the  illumination.  If  anything 
in  the  Christian  religion  is  so  flimsy  and  evanescent,  it  is 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  15 

certainly  made  of  poor  stuff  and  cannot  long  claim  the  alle- 
giance of  candid  men  and  women. 

And  why  should  anyone  be  afraid?  Every  intelligent 
Christian  believes  that  all  truth  is  of  God,  and  that  all  hon- 
est investigation  can  only  arrive  at  further  truth.  And  when 
natural  explanation  is  pushed  back  as  far  as  science  is  able 
to  penetrate,  a  limit  is  reached  beyond  which  no  progress 
can  be  made,  and  yet  with  certain  things  remaining  unex- 
plained. But  these  are  the  very  things  concerning  which 
men  and  women  are  most  anxious  for  light  and  direction. 
Religion,  which  up  to  this  point  has  shared  the  field  with 
history  and  science  and  other  phases  of  human  culture,  now 
steps  out  alone  and  finds  itself  in  its  own  unique  habitat. 
It  is  the  only  voice  which  gives  satisfaction  to  the  human 
heart  in  the  presence  of  the  great  crises  of  life,  and  espe- 
cially when  man  looks  out  into  the  great  unknown  and  wants 
guidance  and  comfort.  So  long  as  human  nature  remains 
what  it  is,  so  long  will  religion  find  a  responsive  echo  in  the 
distraught  lives  of  men  and  women  seeking  peace  and  failing 
to  find  it  elsewhere. 

A  Christian  who  is  alert  to  the  thought-life  of  the  world 
cannot  be  indifferent  to  the  religion  of  other  peoples.  In 
his  consideration  of  the  relation  of  his  own  faith  to  theirs 
he  must  be  able  to  combine  two  convictions  which  are  fre- 
quently strangers  to  each  other.  The  first  is  the  fundamen- 
tal Christian  conviction  that  Christianity  is  unique,  that  it  is 
the  only  faith  adequate  to  meet  the  needs  of  all  men.  This 
sounds  exclusive,  and  so  it  is.  Christianity  as  a  propagating, 
conquering  faith  would  have  ceased  to  exist  long  ago  had 
it  not  been  for  this  conviction.  A  religion  lives  by  the  inten- 
sity of  its  belief  in  its  own  peculiar  worth  and  power. 
"There  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among  men, 
whereby  we  must  be  saved"  (Acts  4.  12).  This  is  a  truly 
Christian  statement;  it  is  the  food  on  which  our  faith  lives 
and  grows. 

But  with  this  conviction  another  must  be  held  to  save  the. 


16  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

strong,  exclusive  belief  just  expressed  from  intolerance. 
The  logic  of  intolerance  is  well  known.  It  is  this :  Christi- 
anity is  the  only  true  faith,  so  all  others  must  be  false  and 
ought  to  be  harried  to  death  as  soon  as  possible.  The  logic 
of  the  Christian  attitude  is  quite  different.  It  starts  with 
the  same  high  declaration  of  the  unique  place  of  Christianity 
among  the  religions,  but  from  that  point  the  difference  is 
radical.  The  word  "false"  is  not  to  be  used  with  reference 
to  other  religions.  That  word  is  reserved  for  the  sordid  and 
insincere,  for  the  unworthy  and  base  among  the  adherents 
of  any  religion,  Christianity  included.  The  Christian  can- 
not but  look  on  all  other  religions  as  the  expression  of  man's 
unsatisfied  longing  after  God  and  his  attempt  to  reach  the 
blessedness  God  alone  can  impart.  Seen  in  this  light  the 
Christian  cannot  be  intolerant.  He  must  sympathize  with 
the  religious  spirit  in  every  place,  even  when  it  is  openly 
antagonistic  to  him  and  his  message.  He  will  appreciate 
all  the  good  to  be  found  in  every  faith  at  the  same  time  that 
he  sees  the  inadequacy  of  the  remedies  that  are  applied. 
And  in  the  end  it  will  be  impossible  to  refrain  from  giving 
to  those  who  do  not  know  Jesus  Christ  the  message  of  moral 
victory  and  spiritual  exaltation  which  can  only  be  achieved 
through  him.  And  this  is  the  primary  and  everlasting  pur- 
pose of  Christian  missions. 

THE  DEFINITION  OF  RELIGION 

Is  a  definition  of  religion  possible?  Mr.  John  Morley  has 
a  caustic  statement  in  his  article  on  "Democracy  and  Reac- 
tion" (Nineteenth  Century,  April,  1905)  that  "if  we  want 
a  platitude,  there  is  nothing  like  a  definition.  Perhaps  most 
definitions  hang  between  platitude  and  paradox.  There  are 
said  to  be  ten  thousand  definitions  of  religion."1  An  extreme, 
view  is  taken  by  Professor  C.  C.  J.  Webb,  who  declares  that 

1  Quoted  by  Edward  Clodd  in  his  Animism,  p.  9.  (London,  Con- 
stable, 1905.) 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  17 

"  a  definition  of  religion  is  needless  and  impossible."2  With- 
out doubt  this  is  true  if  we  are  looking  for  a  definition  which 
shall  be  complete  and  comprehensive.  There  is  that  in  reli- 
gion which  baffles  us  and  which  always  must  elude  a  defini- 
tion. The  best  we  may  do  is  to  be  always  approximating 
a  definition,  but  never  reaching  it.  The  great  realities  of 
life  are  always  bigger  and  deeper  than  we  can  comprehend. 
_A  developing  thing  can  never  be  caged  into  a  form  of  words 
which  attempts  once  and  for  all  to  tell  us  what  it  is.  If  then 
we  are  looking  for  this  kind  of  definition,  perfect  and  com- 
plete, we  shall  of  necessity  be  disappointed.  So  far  we  may 
go  with  Professor  Webb. 

But  what  we  need  is  something  different.  Our  aim  is 
more  immediate  and  more  modest.  We  stand  in  need  of  a 
guide,  a  basis  of  identification.  How  is  the  student  to  know 
in  the  welter  of  impressions  which  comes  in  upon  him  what 
is  religious  and  what  is  not?  A  definition  should  enable 
him  to  detect  religion  and  disentangle  it  from  what  is  not 
religion  though  very  similar  and  closely  connected  with  it. 
Such  a  definition  will  not  be  complete,  but  it  may  be  true; 
it  will  be  tentative,  like  a  scientific  hypothesis,  but  it  may 
prove  extremely  useful.  And  what  is  meant  by  being  true 
is  that  it  shall  point  with  precision  in  the  right  direction  to- 
ward the  final  goal.  Religion  doubtless  is  much  more  than 
is  embodied  in  a  definition,  but  it  is  at  least  that.  We  may  be 
treading  on  safe  ground  and  feel  sure  we  have  a  reliable 
clue.  This  is  about  as  much  as  a  definition  of  religion  may 
be  expected  to  do,  but  it  is  highly  significant  for  the  practi- 
cal purpose  we  have  in  view. 

The  assumption  in  the  mind  of  everyone  is  that  he  knows 
what  religion  is — that  is,  until  he  makes  the  attempt  to  put 
down  exactly  what  is  in  his  mind.  Then  it  becomes  appar- 
ent that  his  ideas  are  hazy  and  ill-defined,  and  that  too  much 
had  been  taken  for  granted  in  his  assumption  of  knowledge. 

2  Group  Theories  of  Religion  and  the  Individual,  p.  37.  (London, 
Allen  and  Unwin,  1916.) 


18  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

One's  own  viewpoint  so  affects  his  outlook  that  the  danger 
always  is  that  he  shall  take  what  religion  means  to  him,  put 
it  into  a  statement,  and  call  that  religion.  Like  Parson 
Thwackum  in  Tom  Jones,  he  may  be  tempted  to  say,  "When 
I  mention  religion,  I  mean  the  Christian  religion,  and  not 
only  the  Christian  religion,  but  the  Protestant  religion,  and 
not  only  the  Protestant  religion,  but  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land/" We  have  a  religion,  but  so  has  the  Zulu,  and  any 
definition  worthy  the  name  must  be  sufficiently  inclusive  to 
serve  in  any  land  and  among  any  people.  Religions  differ 
greatly,  as  we  shall  see,  but  there  must  be  some  element  or 
elements  which  all  the  religions  have  in  common,  or  no  defi- 
nition is  possible.  The  common  element  or  elements  must 
be  distinctive  of  religion,  so  that  we  may  be  able  to  trace  the 
development  of  this  one  thing  through  the  maze  of  the  forms 
it  has  assumed.  We  must  have  in  our  definition  a  statement 
which  will  embrace  every  manifestation  which  can  be  called 
religious. 

Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  define  religion. 
John  Morley's  "ten  thousand  definitions  of  religion"  sounds 
a  bit  rhetorical,  but  certainly  points  vividly  to  the  fact  that 
about  every  writer  who  essays  to  write  on  religion  at  all 
makes  a  trial  at  definition.  Some  of  these  definitions  have 
proved  so  significant  and  so  determinative  of  later  attempts 
that  a  brief  survey  would  seem  to  be  imperative.  Only 
through  many  years  have  students  been  able  to  disengage 
religion  from  other  elements  of  culture  and  determine  more 
exactly  its  distinctive  nature.  Even  now  theories  are  ar- 
rayed against  each  other  which  are  so  wide  apart  that  it 
becomes  all  the  more  important  that  some  position  should 
be  taken  to  save  oneself  from  helpless  confusion  in  the  study 
of  the  religious  life  of  the  various  peoples. 

A  few  definitions  there  have  been  which  disparage  reli- 
gion. Salomon  Reinach  writes  thus,  "I  propose  to  define 

*  Quoted  by  Edward  Clodd,  Animism,  p.  9. 

"V. 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  19 

religion  as :  A  sum  of  scruples  which  impede  the  free  exer- 
cise of  our  faculties."4  One  more  may  be  given,  that  of  Giu- 
seppe Sergi :  "Religion  is  a  pathological  manifestation  of  the 
protective  function,  a  sort  of  deviation  of  the  normal  func- 
tion, a  deviation  caused  by  ignorance  of  natural  causes  and 
their  effects."5  These  definitions  lack  the  fundamental  re- 
quirement of  a  definition.  They  do  not  spring  from  any 
real  insight  into  the  meaning  of  what  they  are  attempting  to 
define.  Such  insight  can  come  only  as  a  result  of  sympa- 
thetic investigation  of  religious  beliefs  and  practices,  and 
this  is  sadly  lacking  in  the  case  of  these  scholars.  A  student 
must  understand  before  he  defines,  and  to  understand  reli- 
gion he  must  view  it  from  within,  feeling  at  home  amid  the 
factors  which  make  up  the  complex  thing  we  know  by 
that  name. 

Not  far  removed  from  this  completely  negative  attitude 
is  that  which  was  held  by  the  English  Deists  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  To  these  skeptical  writers  the  value  of  reli- 
gion was  merely  as  a  practical  discipline,  an  arrangement 
for  keeping  people  decent  and  respectable.  By  some  it  was 
given  a  higher  place  than  by  others,  by  Herbert  of  Cher- 
bury,  for  example,  in  contrast  with  Thomas  Hobbes,  but  in 
the  estimation  of  all,  religion  was  not  of  great  importance 
in  itself,  but  only  as  a  handmaid  of  morality.  Hobbes  goes 
so  far  as  to  make  religion  a  means  of  promoting  the  safety 
of  individuals.  Society  is  looked  upon  as  a  great  police 
organization.  All  religious  and  civil  authority  springs  from 
fear  and  is  necessary  in  order  to  keep  men  subservient  and 
within  bounds. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  these  men  had  no  adequate  appre- 
ciation of  religion,  that  they  had  never  experienced  the  pres- 
ence of  God  in  their  own  hearts.  While  they  had  high 
regard  for  decent  living,  they  had  never  heard  the  thunders 
of  Sinai.  Had  they  done  so,  they  might  have  had  a  more 

*  Orpheus :  A  General  History  of  Religions,  English  trans.,  p.  3. 
5  Les  Emotions,  p.  404. 


20  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

profound  conception  of  the  very  morality  which  they  pro- 
fessed to  admire  so  highly.  They  never  realized  that  right- 
eousness had  its  source  in  the  inmost  nature  of  God  himself. 
Such  a  view  would  have  saved  them  from  their  superfi- 
ciality, and  would  have  raised  religion  to  its  rightful  place 
of  primacy.  They  did  well  to  set  morality  and  religion  in 
the  closest  relationship,  but  by  failing  to  appreciate  the 
nature  of  the  bond  they  placed  religion  where  its  chief  work 
could  not  be  accomplished  and  did  violence  to  the  morality 
which  they  were  so  concerned  to  maintain. 

Turning  now  to  definitions  of  men  who  have  shown  high 
regard  for  religion,  we  may  expect  a  very  different  type  of 
definition.  But  even  here  restricted  and  one-sided  views  are 
to  be  found,  views  which  have  had  their  day,  but  which  in  a 
number  of  cases  have  been  most  influential  in  all  later  at- 
tempts at  definition.  There  are  those  definitions  which 
restrict  religion  to  one  phase  of  human  life.  Such  is  that  of 
Hegel,  who  makes  religion  a  matter  of  the  intellect.  One  of 
his  statements  is  this:  "Thus  religion  is  the  Divine  Spirit's 
knowledge  of  itself  through  the  mediation  of  finite  spirit." 
Leaving  aside  the  monistic  implication  in  this  definition  as 
irrelevant  to  our  immediate  interest,  it  is  clear  that  religion 
was  to  Hegel  purely  a  matter  of  thought.  Others  in  a  later 
day  have  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  followed  in  the  same 
direction.  Professor  E.  B.  Tylor  has  a  very  simple  state- 
ment: "The  minimum  definition  of  religion  is  the  belief  in 
spiritual  beings."6  This  famous  definition  is  one  which  re- 
duces religion  in  its  final  analysis  to  a  belief,  an  intellectual 
attitude.  Max  Miiller  makes  religion  "a  mental  faculty  or 
disposition,  which,  independent  of — nay,  in  spite  of — sense 
and  reason,  enables  man  to  apprehend  the  infinite  under  dif- 
ferent names  and  under  varying  guises/"  This  was  later  mod- 
ified. "Religion  consists  in  the  perception  of  the  Infinite  un- 
der such  manifestations  as  are  able  to  influence  the  moral 


*  Primitive  Culture,  1871,  vol.  i,  p.  383. 

T  Introduction  to  Science  of  Religion,  1873,  p.  17. 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  21 

character  of  man."8  But  in  both  cases  the  emphasis  is  intel- 
lectual, in  spite  of  the  necessity  which  caused  Professor 
Miiller  in  the  second  to  incorporate  the  moral  implication  of 
religion  as  a  part  of  his  definition. 

Religion  has  been  defined  in  terms  of  the  emotions  as 
well  as  of  the  intellect.  One  of  the  most  famous  of  all  def- 
initions is  that  of  Schleiermacher :  "The  essence  of  the  reli- 
gious emotions  consists  in  the  feeling  of  an  absolute  depend- 
ence."9 While  this  may  be  one-sided,  the  emphasis  placed 
upon  the  emotional  element  in  religion  by  Schleiermacher  has 
deeply  influenced  subsequent  attempts.  In  the  present  day 
Professor  John  McTaggart  has  a  definition  with  a  simi- 
lar emphasis:  "It  seems  to  me  that  religion  may  best  be - 
described  as  an  emotion,  resting  on  a  conviction  of  a  har- 
mony between  ourselves  and  the  universe  at  large."10  While 
it  rests  on  a  conviction,  religion  is  "described  as  an  emotion." 
The  emphasis  is  the  same  as  that  of  Schleiermacher.  And 
finally,  religion  has  been  defined  as  will,  or  the  fulfillment  of 
moral  obligation.  Kant  stands  first  here  with  his  declara- 
tion that  "religion  is  the  recognition  of  all  duties  as  divine 
commands,"  and  Matthew  Arnold  may  be  said  to  emphasize 
the  same  side  of  religion  in  his  well-known  word,  "Religion 
is  morality  touched  by  emotion."" 

In  all  of  these  cases  we  would  be  doing  an  injustice  to 
insist  that  no  place  was  given  in  religion  to  the  other  func- 
tions of  the  human  mind,  but  the  emphasis  clearly  has  been 
as  indicated  in  the  quotations.  The  difficulty  is  that  the 
emphasis  is  placed  so  strongly  on  one  or  another  of  the 
factors  that  religion  becomes  less  comprehensive  than  it 
actually  is.  Religion  is  coming  more  and  more  to  be  recog- 
nized as  all-embracive,  as  functioning  in  every  department 
of  human  life,  as  involving  the  intellect,  the  emotions,  and 
the  will  if  it  is  normal  and  true  of  type.  So  while  all  these 

8  The  Origin  of  Religion,  1878,  p.  21. 

9  On  Religion,  p.  106. 

10  Some  Dogmas  of  Religion,  p.  3. 

11  Literature  and  Dogma,  1873,  P-  4& 


22  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

definitions  are  true  as  far  as  they  go,  and  have  been  widely 
influential  in  subsequent  investigations,  they  are  partial  and 
incomplete  nevertheless. 

Another  set  of  definitions — and  these  are  all  the  product 
of  recent  years — divide  on  the  question  of  the  individual  as 
contrasted  with  the  social  emphasis  in  religion.  We  choose 
but  two  of  these  statements,  both  from  American  psychol- 
ogists. The  first  is  from  William  James :  "Religion,  there- 
fore, as  I  now  ask  you  arbitrarily  to  take  it,  shall  mean  for 
us  the  feelings,  acts,  and  experiences  of  individual  men  in 
their  solitude,  as  far  as  they  apprehend  themselves  to  stand 
in  relation  to  whatever  they  may  consider  the  divine."12  The 
other  is  from  Professor  William  K.  Wright:  "The  genius 
of  religion  is  the  endeavor  to  secure  the  conservation  of 
socially  recognized  values."18  Each  of  these  definitions  em- 
phasizes an  important  truth  of  religion.  Religion  is  both 
individual  and  social.  The  danger  lies  in  laying  such  exclu- 
sive emphasis  on  one  or  the  other  of  these  factors  that  no 
standing  room  seems  left  for  the  other.  Religion  is  individ- 
ual in  that  for  each  man  his  religious  experience  is  his  own. 
He  has  a  vertical  relationship  which  is  between  himself  and 
the  higher  powers  on  whom  he  believes,  but  James  goes  too 
far  when  he  speaks  of  the  religion  of  "individual  men  in 
their  solitude,"  for  a  man's  religion  is  so  far  determined  by 
his  lateral  relationships  in  society  that  what  he  has  is  not  his 
alone,  nor  did  it  come  to  him  in  solitude.  Religion  does  un- 
doubtedly conserve  social  values,  and  it  is  most  fortunate 
that  this  feature  of  religious  life  has  been  emphasized.  But 
to  the  individual  religion  is  social  and  then  something  more. 
The  social  aspects  fill  the  horizon  in  the  earlier  stages  of 
development,  when  man  as  an  individual  can  scarcely  be 
said  to  exist,  but  gradually,  as  personality  develops  and  each 
man  begins  to  stand  out  in  his  separate  individuality,  a  con- 


12  Varieties   of   Religious   Experience,   p.   31.      (Longmans,    New 
York,  1913.) 

18  American  Journal  of  Theology,  vol.  xvi,  pp.  385-409. 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  23 

sciousness  of  a  certain  uniqueness  comes  over  him  and  he 
realizes  that  while  he  belongs  to  society  he  is  separate  and 
detached  from  others  in  his  own  individuality  and  in  his 
relation  to  the  powers  on  whom  he  is  dependent. 

There  are  those  who  define  religion  in  terms  of  worship. 
Professor  Allan  Menzies  states  it  thus :  "Religion  is  the  wor- 
ship of  higher  powers  from  a  sense  of  need.""  Professor 
A.  S.  Geden  comes  to  this  conclusion :  "On  the  whole,  then, 
it  would  seem  that  the  essential  quality  or  nature  of  religion 
is  best  described  as  consisting  in  worship.""  One  other,  the 
striking  statement  of  Professor  Auguste  Sabatier,  may  be 
given,  "Prayer  is  religion  in  act — that  is  to  say,  real  reli- 
gion."1' In  these  cases,  as  the  context  shows,  worship  is 
broadened  out  to  become  the  expression  of  the  total  attitude 
of  man,  in  the  fullness  of  his  life,  toward  his  God.  Yet, 
ordinarily  speaking,  religion  is  more  than  worship.  The 
attitude  of  the  worshiper  must  include  more  than  the  wor- 
ship itself,  or  else  his  religion  is  restricted  and  incomplete. 
Yet  the  central  act  of  religion  is  worship,  and  religion  would 
die  without  it,  so  an  adequate  definition  must  provide  for 
this  reaction  of  the  mind  toward  the  higher  powers  or  be 
found  wanting. 

In  our  own  day  a  class  of  definitions  is  being  presented 
with  no  necessary  reference  to  higher  powers  or  to  God. 
The  classic  statement,  and  that  which  has  largely  influenced 
others  of  the  class,  is  that  of  Professor  Harald  Hoffding: 
"The  conservation  of  value  is  the  characteristic  axiom  of 
religion."17  Professor  E.  S.  Ames  has  a  definition  very 
similar:  "Religion  is  the  consciousness  of  the  highest  social 
values."18  Professor  G.  A.  Coe  speaks  of  "religion  as  an 
immanent  movement  within  our  valuations,  a  movement  that 

"History  of  Religion,  p.  13.    (Scribners,  New  York,  1914.) 
"Studies  in  the  Religions  of  the  East,  p.  53.     (Kelly,  London, 

1913.) 

18  Philosophy  of  Religion,  p.  27.    (James  Pott,  New  York,  1913.) 
"Philosophy  of  Religion,  p.  10.     (Macmillan,  London,  1906.) 
"Psychology  of  Religious  Experience,  p.  vii.     (Houghton  Mifflin, 

Boston,  1910.) 


24  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

does  not  terminate  in  any  single  set  of  thought  contents,  or 
in  any  set  of  particular  values."11  It  is  difficult  to  do  justice 
to  these  writers  without  quoting  much  more  fully  than  this 
survey  will  permit,  but  we  may  at  least  say  that  these  defini- 
tions run  counter  to  those  we  have  been  considering  in  that 
religion  is  defined  with  no  reference  to  any  higher  power. 
^The  question  which  is  raised  is  this:  Is  the  distinguishing 
thing  in  religion  something  subjective  or  is  it  objective?  Is 
the  difference  between  religions  one  growing  out  of  differ- 
ences in  values  or  of  differences  in  the  religious  object?  To 
put  it  in  other  words :  Must  a  man  believe  in  God  or  some 
higher  power  to  be  religious  or  can  he  be  considered  such 
with  no  reference  to  divine  powers  of  any  kind? 

Let  us  say  at  once  that  values  always  form  a  most  impor- 
tant element  in  religion.  Men  want  something  which  has 
value  for  them.  If  it  did  not  have  value,  they  would  not 
pursue  nor  desire  it.  There  are  satisfactions  of  various 
kinds  which  are  craved,  and  these  desires  form  the  dynamic 
of  religion  as  of  other  human  activities.  But  the  question 
which  arises  is  this :  Is  the  conservation  of  these  values  the 
inner  core  of  what  we  call  religion  ?  True,  it  is  the  inevitable 
accompaniment  of  religion,  but  is  it  the  differentia  of  reli- 
gion? The  question  resolves  itself  into  this  pertinent  prob- 
lem :  Shall  we  define  religion  by  the  ends  which  are  desired 
or  by  the  means  used  to  secure  them?  There  are  certain 
desires  which  men  have,  desires  emotional  and  intellectual, 
individual  and  social.  Now,  if  religion  is  the  conservation 
of  values  with  no  necessary  reference  to  man's  attempt  to 
secure  this  conservation  through  his  relationship  to  higher 
powers,  then  religion  may  be  defined  without  any  reference 
to  anything  supernatural.  That  is  incidental,  even  though 
it  may  be  frequent  and  even  almost  inevitable.  It  remains 
only  a  means  to  an  end,  and  the  end  which  is  sought  is  the 
reality  in  religion. 

But  it  is  possible  to  look  at  it  from  another  angle,  that  of 

19  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  72.    (Univ.  Chicago  Press,  1916.) 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  25 

man's  experience  as  he  rises  out  of  lower  and  reaches  the 
higher  planes  of  religious  life.  Man  is  after  all  sorts  of 
things,  material,  physical,  social,  moral,  and  spiritual.  He 
tries  every  means  at  his  disposal,  and  among  them  is  a  cer- 
tain conscious  relation  he  holds  with  unseen  higher  powers. 
This  relationship,  purified  and  developed,  becomes  the  chief 
glory  of  his  life,  raising  him  to  a  new  dignity,  bringing 
peace  and  unity  to  his  troubled  mind,  and  taking  its  place 
as  the  inspiring  center  of  his  whole  life.  And  the  remark- 
able thing  is  that  what  to  him  at  the  beginning  was  a  means 
to  an  end  becomes  an  end  in  itself.  He  is  suffused  with  a 
glory  unknown  to  him  before,  and  to  know  God  is  the  su- 
preme desire  and  chief  end  of  his  existence.  At  all  stages 
it  does  conserve  values,  but  so  do  many  other  things  which 
could  never  be  called  religion.  This  one  relationship  is 
unique;  it  makes  its  contribution  to  life  as  do  the  other 
factors,  but  is  to  be  distinguished  by  a  content  which  places 
it  in  a  class  by  itself.  The  desire  to  conserve  values  is  the 
soil  out  of  which  religion  springs,  and  the  conservation  itself 
the  end  which  religion  seeks,  but  neither  is  to  be  confused 
with  the  thing  itself,  which  is  a  relation  of  men  to  powers 
higher  than  themselves. 

What,  then,  is  religion?  To  sum  upi^Et  seems  clear  that 
religion  consists  of  a  number  of  elements.  It  is  a  relation- 
ship of  conscious  dependence  on  higher  powers ;  it  makes  a 
demand  on  the  whole  of  man's  life,  intellect,  emotion,  and 
will;  it  is  both  individual  and  social;  it  is  worship,  yet  it  is 
more  than  worship;  and  it  conserves  all  the  values  which 
give  worth  and  meaning  to  human  life.  The  definition  which 
includes  all  these  features  as  successfully  as  any  is  that  of 
L.  de  Grandmaison :  \"Religion  is  the  sum  total  of  beliefs, 
sentiments,  and  practices,  individual  and  social,  which  have 
for  their  object  a  power  which  man  recognizes  as  supreme, 
on  which  he  depends  and  with  which  he  can  enter  (or  has 
entered)  into  relation."^!  A  very  convenient  form  of  state- 

The  History  of  Religion,  vol.  i,  p.  3.     (Herder,  St.  Louis,  1914.) 


26  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

ment  is  that  given  by  Professor  William  Newton  Clarke, 
"Religion  is  the  life  of  man  in  his  superhuman  relations."21 
With  these  in  mind  we  may  venture  on  our  study  of  the 
religions  of  the  world,  with  a  clue  sufficiently  clear  to  guide 
our  steps  in  and  out  among  the  multitude  of  facts  and  fancies 
which  await  classification  and  interpretation.28 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  RELIGION 

About  a  half  century  ago  Sir  John  Lubbock,  in  his  volume 
Prehistoric  Times,  attempted  to  show  that  religion  was  not 
universal,  that  there  were  tribes  of  men  scattered  fairly 
widely  over  the  earth  which  had  no  religion,  no  worship,  no 
belief  in  higher  powers  with  whom  they  were  related.  Pro- 
fessor Robert  Flint  felt  it  necessary  in  his  Baird  Lecture  for 
1877,  Anti-Theistic  Theories,  to  answer  Sir  John  Lubbock 
at  length.  The  interesting  thing  is  that  the  answer  followed 
the  same  method  as  the  argument  it  was  answering.  In  each 
case  reports  from  travelers  and  others  were  studied  and 
criticized  to  determine  as  nearly  as  possible  what  the  actual 
condition  of  the  tribes  under  scrutiny  indicated.  The  con- 
clusion reached  by  Professor  Flint  was  this:  "An  impartial 
examination  of  the  relevant  facts,  it  appears  to  me,  shows 
that  religion  is  virtually  universal."25 

Such  a  claim  as  that  of  Sir  John  Lubbock  is  no  longer 
made.  Not  only  has  the  more  careful  study  of  savages  led 
to  a  deeper  understanding  of  their  life,  but  psychology  has 
been  developing  as  a  science  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  has 
made  almost  unnecessary  any  further  investigation  among 
savages  themselves  to  determine  the  fundamental  question 
of  the  essential  religious  nature  of  man.  But  even  before 
this  development  had  more  than  begun,  Professor  Flint  had 

"An  Outline  of  Christian  Theology,  p.  I.  (Scribners,  New  York, 
1901.) 

*  I  have  been  indebted  for  a  number  of  these  definitions  to  a  list 
of  definitions  of  religion  compiled  by  Professor  Robert  E.  Hume,  of 
Union  Theological  Seminary. 

-P.  288.    (Blackwood,  Edinburgh,  1899.) 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  27 

sensed  the  conclusions  reached  by  psychology  in  a  more 
recent  time  and  declared  that  "the  world  has  been  so  framed, 
and  the  mind  so  constituted,  that  man,  even  in  his  lowest 
estate,  and  all  over  the  world,  gives  evidence  of  possessing 
religious  perceptions  and  emotions.""  This  could  scarcely 
be  better  expressed  by  the  most  modern  of  our  psychologists, 
even  though  the  technical  terms  might  be  a  little  different. 
The  study  of  human  nature  gives  abundant  proof  that  man 
is  normally  religious,  that  religion  is  an  experience  which 
man  inevitably  possesses  as  soon  as  his  life  begins  to  be  or- 
ganized and  enters  into  relationship  with  his  fellows  and  the 
nature  which  surrounds  him  on  all  sides.  We  are  dealing, 
then,  with  what  is  a  universal  phenomenon. 

It  is  the  origin  of  religion  that  we  are  now  to  investigate. 
The  immediate  impulse  is  to  go  back  in  history  to  the  begin- 
nings and  there  make  a  study  of  man  in  the  process  of 
becoming  religious.  This  implies  that  there  must  have  been 
a  time  when  man  had  no  religion,  but'was  developing  into  a 
religious  being.  The  very  statement  just  made  carries  its 
own  refutation  on  its  face.  Man  is  fundamentally  religious 
and  that  ought  to  make  it  apparent  at  once  that  history  would 
afford  no  light  on  this  question  of  origins.  And  such  is  the 
case.  \Go  back  as  far  as  history  extends  and  man  is  reli- 
gious.^ The  same  evidence  is  forthcoming  when  archaeol- 
ogy is  called  upon  for  its  testimony.  The  prehistoric  re- 
mains in  Europe  and  elsewhere,  as  far  as  they  prove  any- 
thing, show  man  possessed  of  certain  ideas  and  performing 
certain  acts  which  give  strong  evidence  of  being  religious. 
If,  then,  we  are  to  know  anything  about  the  origin  of  reli- 
gion— for  it  surely  must  have  had  an  origin — we  are  com- 
pelled to  go  elsewhere  for  the  help  we  need. 

The  only  other  course  open  is  the  appeal  to  psychology. 
What  this  means  is  that  we  must  seek  to  find  what  in  man 
this  thing  called  religion  is  genetically,  what  it  is  which 
always  develops  in  this  way  no  matter  where  man  is  found. 

"  Anti-Theistic  Theories,  p.  288. 


28  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

It  is  hard  to  know  what  to  call  it.  Not  an  instinct  surely, 
when  one  realizes  the  meaning  of  the  instinctive  life  as  now 
given  us  by  psychological  analysis  and  experiment.  An 
instinct  is  called  by  Alexander  Bain,  "that  untaught  ability 
to  perform  actions."21  Religion  is  not  as  simple  a  reaction 
as  that,  but  is  more  complex,  the  reaction  resulting  from  the 
combined  action  of  the  more  fundamental  features  of  the 
mental  life.  But  this  is  not  to  say  that  religion  is  not  deeply 
rooted  in  human  nature.  As  Professor  Coe  puts  it,  "This 
way  of  organizing  experience  in  terms  of  ideal  values  is  a 
first  item  in  the  religious  nature  of  man.  It  is  present  in  all 
normal  individuals,  and  is  a  type  toward  which  freedom, 
popular  education,  and  democracy  tend."28  We  may  not  be 
able  to  arrive  at  a  term  more  definite  than  that  just  used — 
"the  religious  nature  of  man" — but  the  fact  to  be  emphasized 
is  that  the  organizing  of  experience  into  what  we  call  reli- 
gion is  the  normal  thing,  so  much  so  that,  to  quote  again, 
"Any  individual  who  fails  to  meet  the  conditions  of  life  in 
this  way  we  classify  as  imbecile."*7 

The  material  for  such  an  investigation  is  quite  accessible. 
Child  study  has  been  carried  to  such  a  point  that  certain  con- 
clusions may  well  be  accepted  as  certain,  though  the  conflict 
of  opinions  at  other  points  is  proof  that  much  remains  unset- 
tled. The  developing  mind  of  a  child  must  have  some  like- 
ness to  that  of  the  early  men  of  the  race.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  psychology  of  the  backward  peoples  which  has 
been  pursued  so  earnestly  by  a  small  band  of  competent 
scholars.  But  in  each  case  the  evidence  can  only  be  used 
with  caution.  Neither  the  child  nor  the  present-day  savage 
can  be  held  to  be  just  like  primitive  man.  The  determining 
factor  is  undoubtedly  normal  psychology,  our  own  develop- 
ment as  we  look  back  at  it,  and  what  seems  to  us  as  reason- 


25  Quoted  by  James  Ward,  Psychological  Principles,  p.  53.     (Cam- 
bridge Univ.  Press,  1919.) 


28  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  324. 
27  Coe,  op.  cit.,  p.  324. 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  29 

able  in  the  nature  of  things.  What  can  be  expected  as  a 
result  of  such  a  method  of  procedure?  The  best  that  can 
be  said  is  that  it  is  a  more  or  less  plausible  conjecture.  But 
with  all  that  there  is  value  in  the  investigation,  as  it  compels 
us  to  think  through  certain  aspects  of  the  religious  life  more 
thoroughly  and  in  a  manner  which  might  otherwise  be 
missed. 

We  may  only  take  a  glance  at  a  very  old  theory  of  the 
origin  of  religion,  that  orNLucretius,  who  in  a  famous  state- 
ment ascribed  the  origin  of  religion  to  a  sense  of  fear/  Now, 
fear  has  played  a  large  part  in  religion  and  continues  to  do 
so^ven  among  those  whose  religion  should  have  "cast  out 
fear,"  but  to  make  fear  responsible  for  religion  is  only  a 
part  of  the  story.  j_No  single  cause  can  be  assigned  as  the 
originating  principle  of  so  absorbing  and  complex  an  expe- 
rience as  religion^  Aside  from  this  early  theory  on  the  sub- 
ject little  was  attempted  until  the  time  of  the  English  Deists 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  Christians,  Jews,  and  Moham- 
medans alike  assumed  a  primitive  divine  revelation,  and  that 
settled  the  whole  question.  They  conceived  that  in  the  be- 
ginning— that  means  when  the  first  man  was  created  and 
placed  in  the  Garden  of  Eden — God  revealed  to  him  in  some 
manner  the  essential  truths  of  religion,  such  as  the  existence 
of  one  God,  the  obligation  to  obey  him,  and  the  hope  of 
immortality.  Thus  furnished,  he  began  his  career,  but  when 
sin  emerged  the  revelation  became  hazy  and  indistinct  and 
finally  was  well-nigh  if  not  completely  lost.  The  difficulty 
with  this  exceedingly  fascinating  picture  is  that  it  rests  on 
no  solid  foundation  of  fact.  The  Bible  makes  no  clear  state- 
ment which  would  lead  to  this  conclusion.  When  man  began 
to  play  his  part  he  performed  religious  acts  and  engaged  at 
times  in  a  religious  ritual ;  so  much  is  evident,  but  nothing 
is  said  as  to  origins. 

That  man  received  his  religious  nature  from  God  is 
very  plausible,  but  that  differs  widely  from  the  statement 
that  he  came  into  life  furnished  with  a  full  set  of  religious 


30  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

ideas.  The  theory  of  evolution  presents  us  with  a  very  dif- 
ferent account  of  early  man,  an  account  which  makes  belief 
in  a  more  or  less  complete  revelation  incongruous.  He  de- 
veloped into  what  he  has  become  and  many  ages  passed  be- 
fore he  was  ready  to  appreciate  the  truths  which  on  the  other 
theory  he  is  said  to  have  received  as  an  original  endowment. 
The  easy  way  in  which  through  all  the  centuries  of  Christian 
history  thinkers  accounted  for  the  non-Christian  religions 
was  to  refer  them  to  the  devil  as  the  author.  This  was  a 
simple  solution  of  a  difficult  problem,  and  it  carried  the 
Christian  Church  until  within  the  last  century  or  two,  but 
it  is  too  simple  to  be  convincing  and  betrays  an  ignorance  so 
profound  that  it  is  hard  to  be  patient  with  it  to-day. 

Now  the  Deists  had  their  own  notion  of  the  rise  of  reli- 
gion. They  were  not  only  willing  to  allow  that  man  might 
have  had  an  original  endowment  of  religious  ideas,  but  they 
had  the  matter  quite  thoroughly  worked  out.  A  number  of 
conceptions  which  fitted  in  well  with  their  idea  of  religion 
as  a  natural  phenomenon  in  the  life  of  man  were  made  to 
constitute  his  original  religious  outfit.  But  this  was  not  the 
significant  part  of  their  theory.  Man  would  have  been  all 
right  had  he  retained  the  simplicity  of  his  original  belief, 
but  this  was  not  to  be.  A  class  of  men  arose,  who  came  to 
be  known  as  priests,  who  found  they  could  work  upon  the 
fears  and  credulity  of  men  and  by  so  doing  gain  advantage 
for  themselves.  In  order  to  fasten  their  grip  upon  men 
they  devised  beliefs  and  ritual  practices  which  worked  upon 
the  superstitious  fears  of  men  and  gave  the  priesthood  a  hold 
like  bands  of  iron.  This,  then,  explains  the  origin  of  the 
religions  which  have  grown  up  among  men.  These  wily  men 
saw  their  chance  to  keep  the  people  in  their  power,  and  have 
even  down  to  our  day  been  devising  new  schemes  to  make 
their  tenure  perpetual.  No  one  would  be  foolhardy  enough 
now  to  propound  such  a  theory  of  the  origin  of  religion. 
It  is  too  superficial  and  shows  great  ignorance  of  religion 
and  its  deep  foundations  in  human  life.  And  let  us  see,  as 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  31 


Professor  Morris  Jastrow  points  out,  that  it  is  not  the  func- 
tion of  priests  to  originate  but  to  conserve.  The  prophet 
and  the  seer  are  the  dynamic  creators  in  human  society,  and 
they  have  been  free  men  troubling  themselves  little  about  the 
paraphernalia  of  religion,  but  speaking  out  a  message  full  of 
pregnant  meaning  as  men  face  a  new  age." 

With  these  outworn  theories  as  a  background  we  may  take 
up  those  which  have  arisen  more  recently.  They  are  the 
result  of  scientific  historical  investigation  and  are  an  attempt 
to  explain  religion  on  the  basis  of  all  the  facts  which  are 
available.  But  even  here  inference  must  play  a  large  part 
in  the  final  conclusion.  There  are  facts,  but  they  do  not  go 
far  enough  back  to  give  any  sure  standing  ground  for  an 
incontrovertible  conclusion.  The  best  approach  is  by  way 
of  the  theory  enunciated  by  Professor  E.  B.  Tylor  in  his 
epoch-making  volumes  on  Primitive  Culture.  It  is  called 
the  animistic  theory.  According  to  Professor  Tylor  early 
man  attributed  life  to  nature  and  the  objects  around  him. 
He  looked  upon  all  he  saw  as  animated,  as  possessing  a 
spirit  like  his  own.  He  did  this  by  the  only  instrument  of 
reason  he  had  to  explain  what  he  saw  and  heard  and  felt. 
It  was  the  principle  of  analogy,  according  to  which  all  he 
saw  was  explained  by  reference  to  his  own  personality.  If 
he  saw  a  tree  bend  under  the  wind,  he  could  only  explain 
it  by  thinking  that  he  could  make  the  wind  blow,  too,  and 
thus  in  a  lesser  but  similar  fashion  do  what  he  saw  happen- 
ing in  nature.  He  could  blow,  and  so  there  must  be  some 
invisible  but  very  big  somebody  out  there  who  was  blowing 
very  hard  and  causing  the  trees  of  the  forest  to  bend  and 
groan  in  the  gale.  To  him  somebody  more  or  less  like  him- 
self was  accountable  for  everything  that  happened.  He 
carried  it  out  to  such  lengths  that  the  very  existence  of  a 
separate  thing,  even  a  dead  thing  like  a  stone,  could  be  ex- 
plained only  on  the  basis  of  an  inner  spirit  which  was  its  life. 
Thus  all  nature  became  alive,  filled  with  innumerable  spirits 

28  The  Study  of  Religion,  chap.  iv.    (Scribners,  New  York,  1911.) 


32  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

everywhere  and  in  everything.  There  was  to  early  man 
and  to  the  savage  to-day  no  such  thing  as  inanimate  nature. 
It  was  all  alive  and  throbbing  with  a  life  like  his  own. 

Coming  to  the  point  which  concerns  us  immediately,  Pro- 
fessor Tylor  held  that  religion  had  its  origin  in  the  rela- 
tionship which  man  established  with  certain  of  the  spirits 
of  his  animism.  This  theory  has  been  criticized  by  Profes- 
sor R.  R.  Marett  in  his  The  Threshold  of  Religion.  He 
agrees  with  Professor  Tylor  in  his  general  conclusion  that 
primitive  man  came  finally  to  an  animistic  conclusion,  but 
he  feels  that  the  finished  animism  of  Professor  Tylor  gives 
evidence  of  considerable  development  in  early  man.  Ac- 
cording to  that  theory  man  attributed  a  definite,  distinct 
spirit  to  the  objects  of  nature,  to  each  tree  and  mountain 
and  spring  in  his  vicinity.  But,  says  Professor  Marett, 
how  could  man  thus  attribute  a  spirit  to  what  he  saw  when 
his  own  spirit-life  was  so  uncertain?  His  thinking  was 
confused  and  indistinct  because,  in  the  nature  of  the  case, 
he  was  not  capable  of  anything  more.  In  this  condition  it 
takes  far  too  much  for  granted  to  believe  the  savage  capable 
of  seeing  distinct  spirits  in  the  nature  which  surrounded 
him.  What  Professor  Marett  feels  is  that  to  primitive  man 
nature  was  characterized  by  a  kind  of  aliveness  just  as  he 
was  conscious  of  a  certain  aliveness  in  himself.  Now,  even 
in  this  early  stage  we  feel  that  religion  had  its  beginnings, 
that  man  did  not  have  to  wait  until  he  could  attribute  a  sep- 
arate spirit  to  each  object  of  nature  in  order  to  have  a  reli- 
gion, so  we  have  what  may  be  called  a  "preanimistic  reji- 
gion,"  using  animism  in  the  strict  sense  of  Professor  Tylor's 
theory.  This  general  aliveness  later  developed  into  the  defi- 
nite personification  of  the  objects  of  nature,  but  the  process 
was  completed  long  since,  for  no  savages  are  now  to  be 
found  in  the  "preanimistic"  stage. 

But  we  feel  that  another  point  may  be  made  hi  criticizing 
the  theory  of  Professor  Tylor.  The  theory  does  not  tell  us 
why  man  should  have  been  led  to  worship  the  spirits  of  his 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  33 

animism.  This  is,  after  all,  the  question  of  questions  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  religion.  Whatever  our  conclusion,  let 
us  remember  that  the  animistic  theory  of  nature  must  be 
the  basis  on  which  we  must  build.  Without  that  we  have  no 
approach  which  promises  a  valid  explanation  of  the  savage 
way  of  looking  at  things. 

A  further  development  of  the  theory  just  stated  is  that  of 
Herbert  Spencer.  He  accepted  the  animistic  explanation 
of  primitive  thinking,  but  emphasized_tha^  aspect  which 
deals^with  the  spirit?  nf  the  dead.  As  far  back  as  we  can 
dimly  penetrate,  man  i^seen  offering  sacrifice  to  the  spirits 
of  his  departed  ancestors,  and  this  Herbert  Spencer  believes 
to  have  been  the  earliest  form  of  religion.  Ancestors,  then, 
were  the  first  beings  worshiped.  Even  the  more  inclusive 
worship  of  the  objects  of  nature  all  around  him  is  derived 
from  the  worship  offered  to  those  who  have  died  and  as 
ghosts  continue  their  existence  not  very  far  away.  The  crit- 
icism to  be  made  here  is  that  a  single  form  of  primitive  reli- 
gion can  scarcely  be  made  to  account  for  the  origin  of  reli- 
gion any  more  than  some  other  aspects  which  might  be  men- 
tioned. Why  should  death  any  more  than  some  of  the  mani- 
festations of  power  and  activity  evident  on  all  sides  be  made 
the  sole  explanation  of  the  origin  of  religion? 

We  are  still  far  from  an  answer  to  the  primary  question 
confronting  us,  What  was  it  that  caused  primitive  man  to 
turn  in  worship  to  certain  beings  whom  he  considered  di- 
vine? But  before  attempting  an  answer  it  is  necessary  to 
take  up  one  more  recent  theory  which  is  receiving  wide 
attention  to-day  because  of  the  skill  and  ability  with  which 
it  is  presented.  I  refer  to  the  sociological  theory  of  the 
origin  of  religion  presented  by  Professor  Emile  Durkheim. 
the  leader  of  the  school  of  French  sociologists,  in  his  work 
entitled  The  Elementary  Fnrrrjp  nf  the  Religious  Life.  To 
Professor  Durkheim  religion  is  a  genuine  phase  of  human 
life  which  will  last  because  it  corresponds  to  human  need. 
But  religion  is  not  a  supernatural  affair,  nor  does  it  imply 


34  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

a  belief  in  divine  beings.  It  is  a  conscious  relation  to  what 
are  called  "sacred  things,"  and  the  totem  is  the  type  of 
these  sacred  things.  We  cannot  at  this  point  say  more 
about  the  totem  than  that  it  is  an  animal  (or  sometimes  a 
plant)  with  which  a  group  of  men  believe  they  are  closely 
related.  This  theory  is  found  among  savage  people  in  many 
widely  separated  parts  of  the  world.  The  sacredness  which 
attaches  to  the  totem  is  to  be  explained  by  the  presence  in  it 
of  a  strange,  mysterious  force,  pervasive  and  impersonal, 
which  is  supposed  to  explain  life  and  activity  in  men  and 
things.  How  did  the  thought  that  such  a  power  existed 
arise  in  the  mind  of  primitive  man?  Here  is  the  distinctive 
point  in  the  theory  of  the  French  sociologist.  The  presence 
of  this  force  was  aroused  in  man's  mind  by  society.  What 
does  this  mean  ?  The  group  consciousness  is  different  from 
that  of  the  individual,  though,  of  course,  in  each  case  it  is 
an  experience  of  the  individual.  But  he  realizes  that  in  his 
group,  which  we  call  society,  certain  things  come  to  him 
which  could  not  be  his  were  he  alone  in  the  world.  It  is  his 
sense  of  the  power,  the  protection,  and  the  common  inter- 
ests of  the  group  that  becomes  to  him  the  consciousness  of  a 
mysterious  power  in  the  world,  and  this  is  the  power  he 
worships.  The  totem  is  its  emblem,  but  the  power  wor- 
shiped is  society.  So  society  is  his  god,  and  the  only  god 
he  has  is  society.  The  god  of  the  clan  is  the  clan  itself. 
Thus  social  relations  explain  everything,  with  no  relation  to 
anything  supernatural.  Undoubtedly  religion  is  social,  but 
this  is  quite  different  from  saying  with  these  scholars  that 
that  is  all  there  is  to  religion.  Man  persists  in  believing 
that  he  is  in  touch  not  only  with  his  fellows  but  with  beings 
who  are  over  and  above  him.  Is  the  lesson  taught  by  the 
whole  history  of  religion  mistaken?  Is  there  no  supernat- 
ural? Is  society  all  the  God  there  is?  "Yes,"  say  these 
scholars.  But  again,  is  there  not  an  individual  reference  to 
religion  which  becomes  the  more  clear  as  religion  develops 
into  its  higher  forms?  A  broader  foundation  must  surely 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  35 

be  laid  to  explain  the  whole  of  what  has  been  developed  in 
the  course  of  man's  religious  history. 

From  what  has  been  said  earlier  in  this  section  it  will  be 
apparent  that  man  has  a  certain  capacity  for  religion  which 
is  his  normally  simply  because  he  is  a  man.  Man  has  a  bent 
in  the  direction  of  religion  which  only  needs  the  proper 
stimulus  to  become  religion  in  one  of  its  many  recognizable 
forms.  Here,  then,  in  principle  is  what  we  propose  as  a 
sufficient  explanation  of  religion,  that  is,  as  far  as  this  ori- 
gin can  be  explained  at  all.  There  must  be  an  inner  response 
to  an  influence  from  without  before  we  are  able  to  discover 
religion  in  man;  and  both  factors,  the  subjective  and  the 
objective,  are  necessary  to  account  for  the  final  product. 
What  is  that  influence  from  without  to  which  the  mind  of 
primitive  man  responds?  It  is  the  total  impress  of  nature, 
his  environment,  the  outside  world,  the  society  of  which  he 
is  a  part,  on  his  primitive  mind.  The  points  of  contact  are 
without  number,  and  through  every  one  come  pouring  in  all 
kinds  of  stimuli.  Most  of  these  have  no  particular  religious 
significance,  but  some  affect  him  as  so  strange,  so  mysteri- 
ous, so  awesome  that  he  trembles  when  he  is  in  their  pres- 

IT      •  f  '  e 

ence.  \Jt  is  this  sense  of  mystery  and  awe  in  the  presence  of          \^ 
what  he  conceives  as  higher  powers  coupled  with  a  deep 
dissatisfaction  which  urged  him  on  to  secure  what  he  did 
not  have  which  is  the  beginning  of  religionA 

So  much  may  be  fairly  clear,  that  religion  is  the  result  of 
an  inner  response  to  outward  influences,  but  the  main  point 
is  yet  to  be  considered.  How  does  it  happen  that  in  certain 
cases  his  reaction  to  his  environment  is  of  that  peculiar 
nature  which  we  call  religious  ?  What  causes  primitive  man 
to  assume  an  attitude  of  dependence  and  of  worship  as  he 
stands  in  the  presence  of  what  he  looks  upon  as  divine  pow- 
ers ?  I  do  not  think  this  question  can  be  fully  answered.  We 
may  and  ought  to  push  natural  explanation  back  as  far  as  it 
is  possible  with  the  light  of  the  last  fact  which  may  serve 
as  a  guide,  but  when  that  shall  have  been  done  there  is  still 


36  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

some  distance  to  travel.  We  may  repeat  the  statement  that 
man  has  a  religious  nature,  but  when  we  come  to  close  quar- 
ters with  that  phrase  it  does  not  deliver  up  its  full  meaning 
to  our  inquiry.  Max  Miiller  cut  the  Gordian  knot  by  saying 
that  it  was  man's  "sense  of  the  infinite"  which  accounts  for 
the  possibility  of  the  rise  of  religion  in  his  soul.  This  has 
been  severely  criticized  by  many  writers,  but,  after  all,  it  is 
one  way  of  stating  that  in  man  there  is  that  which  answers 
to  the  voice  from  without  and  which  in  the  end  results  in 
religion.  It  points  to  that  mysterious  something  which 
makes  man  reach  out  beyond  the  seen  to  the  invisible  world 
of  which  he  is  dimly  conscious. 

But  when  one  believes  that  God  has  been  revealing  him- 
self to  man  in  many  forms  and  at  all  periods  in  the  long 
story  of  his  life  it  is  possible  to  take  one  further  step.  We 
are  told  that  there  is  a  light  which  lighteth  every  man  com- 
ing into  the  world,  and  that  even  far  removed  from  any  of 
the  legal  systems  which  have  been  devised  there  is  an  inner 
law  in  the  breasts  of  men  which  acts  as  a  monitor  over  their 
thoughts  and  deeds.  We  may  not  believe  in  a  primitive  rev- 
elation in  the  sense  that  it  consisted  of  a  number  of  reli- 
gious ideas  placed  in  the  mind  of  primitive  man,  but  it  is  a 
very  different  matter  to  believe  that  man's  religious  nature, 
his  religious  proclivity,  is  the  gift  of  God,  a  part  of  his  orig- 
inal endowment,  without  which,  whatever  nature  or  society 
might  have  done,  religion  would  never  have  developed. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  RELIGION 

Two  results  of  our  study  are  doubtless  already  apparent. 
£)ne  is  that  religion  is  fundamentally  the  same  thing, 
whether  found  among  wild  men  on  an  island  in  the  South 
Seas  or  among  the  cultivated  members  of  a  Christian 
church.  Qt  is  always  a  relationship  between  man  and  higher 
powers,  a  relationship  stimulated  by  a  sense  of  need."  The 
other  result  is  that  all  religions  hark  back  to  the  most  prim- 
itive forms  and  are  developments  from  this  simple  germ^jf 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  37 

This  introduces  us  at  once  to  our  present  subject,  the  devel- 
opment of  religion. 

The  first  question  is,  What  is  the  key  to  this  development  ? 
or,  What  causes  a  religion  to  develop  into  something  more 
complex  and  sublime?  The  clue  is  to  be  found  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  origin  of  religion,  where  it  was  seen  that 
without  a  conscious  sense  of  need  man  would  never  have 
developed  a  religion  at  all.  Now,  the  same  causes  which 
led  to  the  first  beginnings  of  religion  undoubtedly  are  the 
explanation  of  its  development.  We  may  say,  then,  that  the 
development  of  religion  follows  and  is  determined  by  a  sense 
of  need.  /When  needs  are  simple  and  crude,  the  religion 
partakes  of  the  same  simplicity  and  crudity;  when  needs 
become  more  extensive  and  refined,  religion  changes  to  meet 
the  new  and  enlarging  needs^  We  may  be  sure  of  this,  be- 
cause, after  all  the  religions  we  know  of  have  been  examined, 
no  savage  people  have  ever  been  found  with  a  highly  devel- 
oped religion.  The  religion  they  possess  is  suited  to  their 
needs  and  is  on  the  level  of  their  advancement  in  culture 
and  outlook  on  life.  An  intelligent  people  demand  a  reli- 
gion suited  to  their  wants,  or  else  it  will  gradually  become 
outgrown.  If  it  is  not  able  by  reinterpretation  or  the  assim- 
ilation of  new  elements,  borrowed  or  discovered  by  some 
far-sighted  prophet,  to  meet  the  newer  needs,  it  is  laid  aside 
for  other  forms  or  for  another  religion,  which  promise  the 
better  to  fit  in  with  the  advance  in  civilization  which  has 
been  achieved.  In  every  period  of  transition  from  an  old 
order,  which  has  become  outworn,  to  a  new  order  as  yet 
untried,  this  process  has  gone  on.  Some  religions  have 
ceased  to  exist,  and  have  been  replaced  by  new  religions, 
which  interpret  better  than  the  old  the  aspirations  of  the 
people  as  they  look  forward  with  hope  to  a  better  day.  In 
other  cases  religions  have  shown  a  remarkable  capacity  of 
adaptation  and  have  continued  to  live  and  thrive  until  our 
own  time. 

There  is  no  more  significant  or  interesting  feature  of  the 


38  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

study  of  the  religions  of  the  world  than  this.  Certain  well- 
marked  periods  of  crisis  are  to  be  discovered  in  the  story 
of  every  civilized  or  even  semi-civilized  people,  and  it  is 
just  at  these  crucial  turning  points  when,  after  religion  has 
seemed  to  be  almost  stationary  for  centuries  it  may  be,  a 
new  life  can  be  discovered  stirring  among  men,  and  the 
result  is  the  ushering  in  of  a  new  age.  Just  at  the  present 
time  the  religions  of  the  world  are  passing  through  such  a 
crisis.  The  invasion  of  the  Orient  by  ideas  entirely  strange, 
the  well-nigh  complete  acceptance  of  Western  education, 
and  the  contact  with  the  moral  and  religious  ideas  of  Chris- 
tendom have  created  an  unprecedented  situation,  involving  a 
crisis  in  the  moral  ideals  and  religious  beliefs  of  all  the 
peoples  who  have  come  under  their  influence.  What  the 
outcome  will  be  no  one  can  foresee.  One  thing  is  altogether 
clear :  a  profound  change  is  taking  place,  and  the  final  result 
will  be  apparent  only  when  the  nations  have  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  settled  down  again  as  partakers  of  the  culture 
of  the  new  age  which  is  dawning. 

One  of  the  questions  raised  by  such  considerations  con- 
cerns the  strange  inequality  in  development.  While  no 
people  have  been  discovered  who  fail  to  show  some  evi- 
dence of  advance,  that  advance  in  many  cases  is  so  slight 
that,  compared  with  the  great  religious  systems  of  the  world, 
it  seems  to  be  sluggish  and  almost  stagnant.  Now,  the  ques- 
tion arises,  why  should  one  religion  have  advanced  and 
others  remained  almost  in  their  primitive  state?  Why 
should  one  people^  have  developed  needs  and  others  not  ? 
Again,  why-should  a  people  remain  savage  for  untold  ages, 
then  suddenly  begin  the  march  forward?  What  makes  the 
difference  between  peoples  ?  Is  it  racial  precosity  ?  Is  it  the 
effect  of  environment?  Is  it  because  of  outward  stimulus? 
Is  it  economic,  or  social,  or  individual  ?  No  final  answer  has 
been  found  to  these  and  similar  questions. 

But  while  these  final  questions  wait  for  a  satisfying  an- 
swer we  may  go  some  distance  into  the  process  of  devel- 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  39 

opment  and  seek  to  discover  some  of  its  laws.\A^e  may  say 
at  once  that  the  growth  of  anything  so  complex  as  religion 
cannot  be  accounted  for  by  any  single  cause^  Religion  must 
develop  through  the  interaction  of  many  elements,  each 
complex  in  itself.  One  of  the  clues  which  will  provide  a 
fulcrum  for  our  query  is  that  there  is  an  eje^ment  of  con- 
scipus  mirpose  which  determines  the  advance  man  makes  in 
religion^  Uf  course,  he  does  not  see  the  end,  and  his  aim  is 
indefinite,  but  he  does  want  something  and  moves  forward, 
even  blindly  at  times,  to  secure  it.  While  this  may  be 
spoken  of  as  an  evolution,  since,  in  general,  there  is  dis- 
cernible an  advance  from  the  simple  to  the  more  complex, 
from  the  crude  to  the  cultivated,  several  very  important 
factors  must  be  taken  into  consideration  to  guard  the  state- 
ment from  false  interpretation.  In  the  first  place,  while  the 
general  trend  is  toward  progress,  there  come  periods  of 
retrogression,  of  degeneracy,  when  any  advance  made  seems 
in  danger  of  being  lost.  This  phenomenon  is  to  be  found  in 
many  places  and  makes  it  very  difficult  to  speak  of  the  whole 
movement  as  an  evolution — if  by  that  term  is  meant  steady 
advance  out  of  lower  forms  into  higher.  But  when  the 
human  factor  is  taken  into  consideration  and  given  a  deter- 
minative place  in  the  process,  the  whole  situation  begins  to 
clear.  Development  for  man,  individual  and  social,  is,  as 
Professor  George  Galloway  points  out,  a  vocation."  He 
may  not  be  able  to  will  anything  he  wants,  and  his  choices 
may  be  circumscribed  by  his  outlook  and  his  environment, 
but — and  this  is  the  important  ooint — he  nyis,t  will  this  or 
that,  or  nothing  happens.  And  when  we  thus  intrmluce  into 
the  evolution  the  personal  factor,  we  are  dealing  with  that 
which  is  more  or  less  incalculable.  But  it  is  this  very  human 
element  which  makes  our  study  one  of  abiding  interest.  We 
may  at  any  moment  come  into  the  presence  of  a  gifted  seer 
who  surprises  us  by  his  intuitions  and  fills*  us  with  new 
confidence  in  man  and  the  religious  life  he  has  developed. 

Philosophy  of  Religion,  chap.  v.     (Scribners,  New  York,  1914.) 


40  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

There  is,  however,  another  side  to  this  problem  of  reli- 
gious development  which  cannot  be  neglected  if  we  are  to 
secure  a  view  relatively  complete.  Does  the  whole  burden 
of  development  rest  on  man  alone?  Is  he  the  only  one  con- 
cerned in  his  advance  toward  a'nlore  satisfying  life?  All 
the  religions  have  a  very  definite  answer  to  this  question,  a 
decided  negative.  All  believe  that  in  one  way  or  another  the 
Divine  has  been  seeking  to  make  its  will  known  to  man. 
Thus  the  course  of  the  history  of  religion  is  from  this  stand- 
point the  progressive  revelation  of  God  to  men,  a  revelation 
disclosed  just  as  rapidly  as  men  were  able  to  receive  it. 
There  is,  then,  a  divine  pedagogy,  God  in  his  gracious  pur- 
pose meeting  man  with  his  needs  and  giving  him  that  satis- 
faction which  makes  him  complete.  It  is  a  gradual  process, 
but  man  is  not  alone  in  its  realization.  God  himself,  the 
Creator  of  man,  is  seen  giving  himself  in  ever  fuller  and 
fuller  measure  until,  in  the  Christian  revelation,  we  see  him 
as  he  is  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 

If,  as  we  have  tried  to  show,  the  development  of  religion 
proceeds  along  with  and  is  demanded  by  the  enlarging  needs 
of  man,  it  must  be  at  once  evident  that  the  stages  in  religious 
growth  are  coordinate  with  the  stages  of  civilization  and 
culture.  Religious  development  cannot  be  understood  apart 
from  that  of  culture  in  general.  The  steps  of  the  cultural 
movement  are  the  steps  in  the  development  in  religion.  We 
shall  follow  the  three  stages  as  given  by  Professor  Gallo- 
way, namely,  the  tribal,  the  national,  and  the  universal.30 

i.  The  Tribal.  We  do  not  know  how  man  was  organized 
socially  in  the  beginnings  of  his  life.  There  are  theories 
according  to  which  he  lived  promiscuously  with  his  fellows, 
with  no  family  life,  but  there  is  an  influential  body  of  opin- 
ion to-day  which  holds  that  a  monogamous  relation  between 
a  man  and  his  one  wife  was  the  earliest  form  of  relationship 
in  society.  But  whatever  may  have  been  the  fact  in  prehis- 
toric times,  we  know  of  no  simpler  form  of  union  than  the 

90  Philosophy  of  Religion,  chap.  ii. 


THE   NATURE   OF  RELIGION  41 

tribe.  It  is  spoken  of  as  the  "rudimentary  form"  of  social 
union,  and  is  the  form  in  which  all  primitive  or  savage 
peoples  live  to-day.  In  this  stage  the  individual  is  next  to 
nothing,  and  the  group  as  a  group  is  the  end-all.  There  is 
little  or  no  reflection  on  life  and  its  meaning,  and  material 
interests  force  themselves  on  the  attention  so  exclusively 
that  little  opportunity  is  offered  for  anything  intellectual. 
Longfellow's  "Hiawatha"  is  an  idealization  and  never  had 
its  counterpart  in  reality.  Savages  simply  do  not  have  such 
thoughts  and  feelings,  which  are  the  outcome  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent social  environment.  The  savage  does  not  lead  an 
idyllic  life,  and  only  appears  to  do  so  when  we  from  a  dis- 
tance far  removed  read  into  his  crude,  cramped  life  concep- 
tions entirely  foreign  to  his  mind.  In  this  stage  law  is  cus- 
tom, the  members  of  the  tribe  being  united  by  the  blood-bond 
and  each  member  following  as  a  matter  of  course  in  the  cus- 
tomary line.  There  is  little  or  no  individual  initiative,  and 
all  feel  the  bond  of  mutual  responsibility.  What  affects  one 
affects  all  and  the  blame  for  what  one  does  is  shared  by  all. 
Piety,  if  the  word  can  be  used  at  all,  consists  in  being  loyal 
to  the  tribe  and  obeying  its  mandates.  £pn  this  level  man's 
interests  are  determined  by  the  constant  necessity  of  secur- 
ing enough  to  eat,  and  by  watchfulness  against  the  dangers 
of  nature  and  the  attacks  of  his  enemies.  Under  these  con- 
ditions the  savage  never  rises  above  his  material  wants  and 
desires,  and  his  religion  remains  on  that  same  low  level  j 

2.  The  National.  Man  could  never  get  away  from  the 
lower  stage  by  pure  reflection,  for  he  had  not  learned  to 
think  and  had  no  incentive  to  do  so.  Some  change  induced 
from  the  outside  was  necessary  to  produce  a  new  stage  men- 
tally and  religiously.  A  new  set  of  needs  must  be  created, 
and  this  actually  came  about  by  the  disappearance  of  the 
tribe  and  the  rise  of  the  nation.  We  do  not  know  exactly 
how  this  change  was  brought  about,  but  conjecture  has  been 
able  to  make  quite  a  satisfying  picture  of  the  process.  War 
must  have  had  much  to  do  with  it,  when  one  tribe  established 


42  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

its  rule  over  other  weaker  ones,  and  tribes  were  brought 
together  and  cemented  in  defense  against  common  enemies 
from  without.  Migrations  caused  by  over-population  and 
the  failure  of  sufficient  subsistence  cannot  be  left  out  as  an 
important  factor.  But  out  of  it  came  the  state,  with  a  cap- 
ital city  which  exercised  authority  over  the  country  lying 
about.  In  such  a  state  conditions  of  life  differ  greatly  from 
those  in  a  tribe.  There  is  now  a  division  of  labor,  the  sol- 
dier and  the  priest,  the  artisan  and  the  farmer  emerging  and 
taking  their  place  in  the  social  organism.  Reading  and  writ- 
ing are  now  to  be  found  among  human  accomplishments, 
and  out  of  them  grow  chronology  and  the  writing  of  annals. 

Such  a  civilization  demands  gods  far  different  from  those 
of  the  tribe.  They  must  be  stronger  and  wiser  and  more 
distinct.  A  certain  division  of  labor  is  found  among  the 
divinities,  and  we  come  to  have  what  are  known  as  "depart- 
mental gods."  With  more  complexity  in  society  came  gods 
with  more  attributes  and  a  richer  life.  (One  of  the  great 
developments  at  this  stage  is  social  morality,  and  this  has 
the  important  effect  of  mpralizing  the  idea  of  God^  The 
deities  begin  to  be  associated  wim  moral  ideals  in 'a  manner 
unknown  before.  With  great  officials  in  the  nation,  from 
the  king  himself  to  the  lesser  men  who  are  in  more  immedi- 
ate contact  with  the  masses  of  the  people,  we  find  the  "mo- 
narchian  idea"  worked  out  among  the  gods,  supreme  gods 
lording  it  over  the  lesser  divinities  and  so  on  down  to  gods 
which  scarcely  deserve  the  name.  This  is  but  a  most  gen- 
eral statement,  but  it  may  serve  to  indicate  the  manner  in 
which  the  state  of  civilization  is  reflected  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  pantheon. 

3.  Thg  Universal.  Out  of  the  national  developed  the  uni- 
versal. Y^he  universal  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  deepening  and 
individualizing  of  religion)  As  religion  ceases  to  be  merely 
the  possession  of  a  group  as  such  and  is  seen  to  involve  an 
individual  relationship  between  the  soul  and  his  God,  it  be- 
comes, potentially  at  least,  universal.  What  is  good  for  a 


THE   NATURE   OF   RELIGION  43 

man  as  an  individual  is  good  for  another  man  until  by  impli- 
cation and  in  the  ideal  it  begins  its  journey  to  claim  the  alle- 
giance of  all  men  everywhere.  Only  a  few  of  the  religions 
have  thus  burst  the  nationalistic  bonds  and  have  sought  to 
become  international  or  universal.  Most  of  the  great  reli- 
gions have  remained  through  the  ages  attached  to  one  people 
or  nation.  It  is  a  distinct  advance  when  they  deepen  and 
develop  to  such  an  extent  that  the  very  hope  of  their  con- 
tinued existence  seems  to  lie  in  propagating  them  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  This  is  the  highest  form  of  religion,  and  is 
to-day  represented  by  three  virile  faiths,  namely,  Buddhism, 
Mohammedanism,  and  Christianity.  These  three,  as  repre- 
senting the  missionary  idea,  must  be  the  high  points  in 
our  study. 

A  last  consideration  must  have  to  do  with  the  method  of 
procedure.  We  may  well  take  it  up  here  because  the  three 
stages  of  religious  development  just  given  point  to  the  most 
convenient  and  most  significant  outline  to  be  followed  in  the 
chapters  which  follow.  Much  has  been  written  on  the  classi- 
fication of  religions,  and  many  schemes  have  been  devised, 
but  most  of  them  fail  to  be  convincing.  They  are  of  little 
practical  use  and  do  not  give  any  helpful  clue  in  organizing 
the  material  at  hand.  It  seems  best  to  take  up  animistic 
religion  first,  representing  as  it  does  the  religion  of  man  in 
the  tribal  form  of  organization.  Following  this  the  national 
religions  may  be  studied.  Here  the  problem  of  order  is 
almost  impossible  of  solution,  if  one  desires  to  trace  devel- 
opment and  historical  continuity  in  any  religion  or  in  any 
people.  Two  great  families  of  religion  are  those  of  the 
Indo-European  peoples  and  the  Semitic  peoples.  But  where 
shall  we  place  Egyptian  religion,  which  is  in  no  sense  Indo- 
European  and  only  partially  Semitic?  How  shall  we  study 
Buddhism,  which  sprang  out  of  Aryan  soil  in  India,  but 
finally  disappeared  there  and  appeared  among  the  so-called 
Turanian  peoples  in  China,  Tibet,  Korea,  and  Japan?  The 
only  thing  to  do  is  to  decide  arbitrarily  on  a  certain  course, 


44  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  MANKIND 

knowing  full  well  that  it  cannot  be  entirely  satisfactory.  So, 
after  having  discussed  the  religion  of  the  animistic  peoples 
we  shall  take  up  the  national  religions,  starting  in  by  a  study 
of  the  ancient  faiths  of  Egypt  and  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 
Then  we  may  begin  the  journey  through  the  broad  field  of 
the  religions  of  the  Indo-European  peoples,  those  of  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome,  the  religion  of  Zoroaster,  Hinduism,  and 
Buddhism.  Having  done  this,  we  shall  cross  the  mountains 
into  Eastern  Asia  and  examine  the  religions  of  China  and 
Japan,  in  each  case  carrying  on  the  story  of  Buddhism  as 
found  in  these  countries.  This,  then,  clears  the  field  for  the 
religions  of  the  Semitic  peoples,  Judaism  and  Islam.  The 
last  section  will  be  devoted  to  an  inquiry  into  the  origins,  the 
history,  and  significance  of  the  Christian  religion.  The 
journey  is  a  long  one,  but  the  student  will  be  amply  re- 
warded as  he  realizes  that  he  deals  with  those  matters  which 
are  deepest  in  the  human  heart,  and  which  are  of  the  greatest 
significance  in  tracing  the  history  of  man  and  his  progress 
in  civilization. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

Morris  Jastrow,  Jr.,  The  Study  of  Religion  (New  York,  1901). 
George  Galloway,  The  Philosophy  of  Religion  (New  York,  1914), 

Part  I,  The  Nature  and  Development  of  Religion. 
George  Albert  Coe,  The  Psychology  of  Religion  (Chicago,  1916). 
L.  R.  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion  (New  York,  1905). 
C.  P.  Tiele,  Elements  of  the  Science  of  Religion,  2  vols.  (Edinburgh, 

1897).    Out  of  print,  to  be  found  in  library. 
J.  B.  Pratt,  The  Religious  Consciousness  (New  York,  1920). 


CHAPTER   II 
ANIMISTIC   RELIGION 

ANIMISTIC  PEOPLES  AND  THEIR  HABITAT 

THE  religion  we  are  about  to  describe  has  been  called  by 
various  names.  It  has  been  spoken  of  as  tribal  or  primitive 
religion,  and  also  by  the  name  we  have  used.  Not  any  one 
is  entirely  satisfactory.  Tribal  religion  is  an  accurate  desig- 
nation because  all  the  people  who  have  this  form  of  religion 
and  have  not  advanced  beyond  it  are  in  the  tribal  form  of 
organization.  It  is  only  because  one  or  two  other  terms 
penetrate  a  little  deeper  into  the  inner  meaning  of  the  beliefs 
and  practices  of  these  people  that  it  is  not  used.  Probably 
the  most  widely  used  designation  at  the  present  time  is  prim- 
itive religion.  The  difficulty  is  that  what  we  are  dealing 
with  is  not  really  primitive.  The  religion  of  the  most  back- 
ward peoples  in  the  world  gives  undeniable  evidences  of  de- 
velopment out  of  something  more  simple  and  crude.  At  best 
it  only  approximates  the  primitive,  and  is  far  removed  from 
what  might  be  described  correctly  by  that  word.  There  is 
objection  also  to  the  word  "animistic"  because  that  attitude 
of  mind  is  not  left  behind  when  higher  forms  of  religion 
are  attained,  and  so  is  not  peculiar  to  those  who  are  at  the 
religious  stage  which  is  designated  by  that  name.  But  it  is 
used  here  because  it  is  the  animistic  outlook  or  interpreta- 
tion of  their  world  which  dominates  all  the  thoughts  and 
actions  of  the  backward  peoples.  Their  religion  is  the  rela- 
tionship which  these  peoples  have  established  between  them- 
selves and  certain  of  the  spirits  of  their  animism.  Hence 
this  term  penetrates  to  the  underlying  philosophy  of  these 
peoples  and  has  been  chosen  to  designate  their  religion  in 
these  studies. 

45 


46  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

There  is  good  reason  why  this  form  of  religion  should  be 
most  carefully  investigated,  and  why  it  should  be  studied 
first.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  all  the  more  fully 
developed  religions  of  the  world  have  emerged  out  of  these 
more  primitive  forms.  They  have  all  passed  through  the 
animistic  stage  and  cannot  be  understood  without  a  knowl- 
edge of  this  period  of  their  development.  In  every  case  it 
will  be  necessary  to  describe  that  stage  of  each  religion  be- 
fore going  on  to  the  forms  it  has  later  assumed.  In  this 
way  we  shall  be  dealing  with  animistic  religion  frequently 
and  not  only  in  this  chapter.  And  even  among  the  most  civ- 
ilized and  cultured  peoples  many  remnants  or  vestiges  of  this 
early  stage  are  still  to  be  found.  Superstitions  of  all  kinds, 
many  of  them  innocent  and  others  far  more  serious  in  their 
effect,  abound.  The  good  luck  to  be  expected  from  an  old 
horse-shoe  and  the  ill  luck  which  flows  from  the  number 
thirteen  will  suggest  a  score  of  other  superstitions  known 
and  more  or  less  believed  in  among  our  own  friends  and  rela- 
tions. What  is  the  meaning  of  these  strange  "survivals"? 
No  adequate  explanation  can  be  given  without  an  under- 
standing of  the  animistic  outlook.  These  furtive  beliefs 
have  only  been  handed  down  because  in  each  generation  re- 
ceptive minds  respond  eagerly  to  such  stimuli,  minds  which 
have  failed  to  rise  to  the  stage  from  which  these  puerile 
notions  have  been  banished.  But  they  are  with  us  far  and 
wide  and  it  becomes  our  duty  to  recognize  the  large  place 
they  occupy  and  understand  their  significance  in  our 
civilization. 

No  census  has  been  taken  of  the  animistic  peoples  as  a 
whole.  We  know  how  many  there  are  in  the  United  States, 
in  India,  and  in  some  other  countries,  but  for  the  most  part 
they  have  lived  until  so  recently  outside  the  pale  of  civiliza- 
tion that  any  scientific  enumeration  was  not  even  thought  of. 
Now  that  the  whole  world  has  been  parceled  out  and  the 
uncultured  peoples  are  under  the  supervision  of  one  or 
another  of  the  advanced  nations  we  may  expect  that  more 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  47 

certain  knowledge  of  the  numbers  of  animists  may  be  forth- 
coming. At  the  present  time  we  must  depend  upon  esti- 
mates. And  when  estimates  differ  widely  we  can  only  say 
that  we  do  not  know  much  about  the  subject.  One  estimate 
gives  a  hundred  and  fifty-seven  millions1  and  another  a  hun- 
dred and  seventy-three  millions.2  At  any  rate  they  form  a 
not  inconsiderable  part  of  the  population  of  the  earth.  In 
no  place  is  the  population  dense,  the  very  conditions  of  their 
life  making  anything  approaching  overcrowding  impossible. 
They  are  scattered  more  or  less  over  both  hemispheres. 
No  continent,  not  even  Europe,  is  without  some  representa- 
tives of  these  uncultured  tribes.  We  have  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic  the  Eskimos  and  the  many  tribes  of  aboriginal 
Indians,  both  in  North  and  South  America.  The  largest 
single  group  of  animists  is  to  be  found  in  Africa,  where  the 
various  Negro  and  Bantu  tribes  occupy  the  great  body  of 
the  continent.  On  the  mainland  of  Asia  are  various  aborig- 
inal tribes,  such  as  the  Ainu  in  Japan,  the  Lolos,  and  others 
in  the  mountain  and  desert  fastnesses  of  northern,  western, 
and  southwestern  China,  and  the  interesting  hill  tribes  of 
India,  the  Bhils,  the  Gonds,  and  many  others.  In  all  these 
cases  the  more  primitive  peoples  have  been  displaced  by  the 
coming  of  those  who,  emigrating  from  some  previous  abode, 
have  taken  possession  of  the  country  and  driven  the  former 
occupants  back  into  the  more  inaccessible  and  undesirable 
sections  of  the  country.  There  they  have  remained  much 
as  they  were  centuries,  or  even  a  millennium,  ago.  But, 
again,  in  the  island  world  of  the  Southern  Pacific  conditions 
are  much  as  they  are  in  Africa.  A  large  population  of  ani- 
mistic tribesmen,  out  of  touch  through  ages  with  peoples  of 
a  higher  civilization,  live  a  life  which  has  taken  its  form 
with  no  outside  influence  to  turn  it  from  its  natural  devel- 
opment. The  great  islands  of  Sumatra,  Java,  Borneo,  and 

1  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  nth  edition,  article,  "Missions." 
2Zeller,  as  quoted  in  Warneck's  History  of  Protestant  Missions, 
loth  German  edition. 


48  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

New  Guinea,  not  to  mention  the  aboriginal  tribes  in  the  Phil- 
ippines, New  Zealand,  and  Australia,  furnish  the  largest  part 
of  the  population  of  this  ocean  world.  But  besides  these 
are  the  people  of  the  hundreds  of  small  islands,  some  little 
better  than  coral  reefs,  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  broad 
Pacific.  Coming  now  very  rapidly  under  the  influence  of 
Western  nations,  these  people  are  showing  many  signs  of 
change.  They  are  still  for  the  most  part  in  the  animistic 
stage,  but  this  condition  must  soon  be  exchanged  for  another 
as  they  come  into  more  intimate  contact  with  the  commerce 
and  education  and  religion  of  the  Western  world.  The  con- 
tact already  had  has  been  both  beneficial  and  baneful,  and 
the  serious  question  is,  whether  the  last  end  of  these  simple 
people  may  not  be  worse  than  the  first.  It  all  depends  upon 
the  side  of  our  culture  and  civilization  which  succeeds  in 
making  itself  felt  most  powerfully  as  these  people  leave  their 
old  moorings  and  enter  the  troubled  stream  of  modern  life. 
The  great  variety  of  animistic  peoples  scattered  over  the 
world  is  an  embarrassment  when  their  religious  life  is  to  be 
studied.  Each  tribe  has  religious  practices  and  beliefs  which 
differ  from  those  of  others.  It  would  seem  that  the  only 
way  in  which  the  religion  of  these  people  could  be  ade- 
quately presented  would  be  to  take  each  tribe  or  group  of 
similar  tribes  separately  and  give  an  account  of  its  religious 
rites  and  beliefs.  This  is  the  only  way  in  which  the  great 
national  religions  can  be  treated,  so  individual  are  they  and 
so  different  in  their  history  and  outlook.  But  while  the 
religion  of  a  tribe  is  not  the  same  as  that  of  others  the 
case  is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  more  developed 
faiths.  The  differences  are  comparatively  slight.  As  soon 
as  certain  superficial  differences  are  noted  an  almost  monot- 
onous sameness  is  to  be  discovered.  Probably  owing  to  the 
lack  of  suppleness  in  the  thought-life  of  the  animist  little 
diversity  is  to  be  found.  Thought  is  weak  and  covers  a 
very  limited  range.  It  is  not  introspective,  nor  does  it  de- 
velop into  reflection.  Its  reactions  are  spontaneous  and 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  49 

naive,  and  hence  more  or  less  alike  even  among  peoples  sep- 
arated by  half  the  circumference  of  the  globe.  This  being 
the  case,  it  is  not  necessary  to  describe  many  of  the  varieties 
of  practice  to  come  to  an  understanding  of  the  meaning  of 
animistic  religion. 

Before  taking  up  the  various  aspects  of  savage  belief  and 
life  it  may  be  well  to  call  attention  to  several  of  its  more 
general  characteristics.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  reli- 
gion of  peoples  living  in  the  tribal  form  of  organization  ex- 
hibits three  marked  peculiarities,  that  it  is  traditional,  nat- 
ural, and  spontaneous. 

1.  Traditional.    These  forms  of  religion-  like  the  culture 
out  of  which  they  sjpring.  have  no  written  language  and  no 
literature.    This  means  no  history  and  no  possibility  of  any- 
significant  and  conscious  progress.     This  is  just  what  we 
find.    The  religion  of  these  peoples  is  about  what  it  was  a 
thousand  years  ago.    No  advance  can  be  made  until  the  ex- 
isting social  order  has  been  changed  into  something  higher. 
Religion  may  do  this,  but  it  must  be  religion  brought  in  from 
the  outside.    So  long  as  the  only  means  of  passing  on  from 
one  generation  to  another  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  the 
past  is  by  word  of  mouth  there  is  no  hope  of  building  up 
civilization  which  shall  show  marks  of  steady  improvement. 
A  traditional  civilization  is  always  stationary:  it  only  rises 
to  higher  .levels  when  its  acts  can  be  recorded  and  jrans- 
mitted  to  posterity  in  forms  which  are  permanent. 

2.  Natural.    By  which  is  meant  that  the  natural  desires 
are  about  as  far  as  the  savage  goes  in  his  outreach.    He~is 
of  necessity  so  occupied  in  the  material  and  physical  that 
no  other  needs  are  felt.    Enough  for  himself  and  his  family 
to  eat,  care  of  his  animals,  protection  against  his  enemies, 
the  satisfaction  of  his  primary  impulses — these  are  about  all 
he  thinks  about.    His  needs  are  simple  and  crude  and  can 
never  become  more  complex  and  refined  so  long  as  he  con- 
tinues to  live  this  life.    He  is  not  awake  to  himself  and  the 
latent  possibilities  of  his  deeper  nature.     Spiritual  attain- 


50  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

ment  is  denied  him  because  he  has  never  felt  any  aspiration 
after  the  things  of  the  spirit.  This  condition  is  not  acci- 
dental, it  is  inevitable  so  long  as  people  remain  on  this  level. 
We  are  dealing,  then,  with  man  not  at  his  best,  but  man 
undeveloped  and  curtailed  and  cramped  and  dwarfed.  He 
is  a  man,  to  be  sure,  but  a  man  without  the  touch  which 
lifts  him  out  of  the  purely  natural  into  the  sphere  of  the 
spirit. 

3.  Spontaneous.  They  can  point  to  no  founder  and  no 
crucial  turning-points  which  have  determined.  Jhe__direction 
they  should  take.  They  have  grown  spontaneously  as^a 
feature  of  the  life  and  culture  of  the  tribe,  and  asuncon- 
sciously  as  any  other  feature.  Like  everything  else  in  tue 
life  about  him,  the  animistic  savage  takes  religion  for 
granted,  as  he  does  the  hill  which  stands  opposite  his  village 
or  the  chief  of  the  tribe.  Everything  to  his  mind  has  always 
been  as  it  is  now  and  needs  no  further  justification  or  expla- 
nation. Religion  is  perfectly  normal  and  as  much  a  part  of 
his  life  as  sleeping  at  night  or  going  to  battle  when  an  enemy 
approaches.  Spontaneity,  together  with  the  other  two  char- 
acteristics just  mentioned,  shows  us  religion  at  its  lowest 
level  and  almost  at  a  standstill.  Variations  are  to  be  found, 
but  they  are  variations  within  the  limits  just  given  by  these 
three  descriptive  terms. 

ANIMISM  AND  THE  MYSTERIOUS  POWER 

All  people  believe  in  spirits.  No  degraded  tribe  has  been 
discovered  without  it.  These  spirits  are  everywhere,  in  the 
sky  above,  on  the  earth  beneath,  in  the  depths  of  the  waters, 
and  in  the  dark  caverns  and  recesses  of  the  mysterious 
mountains.  All  nature  is  tenanted  by  an  invisible  host  of 
spiritual  beings  not  far  away  from  man  and  likely  at  any 
moment  to  make  their  presence  felt  in  any  one  of  a  hundred 
ways.  It  is  easy  to  understand  why  the  savage  should 
think  that  animals  are  possessed  of  spirits  like  ourselves, 
but  it  is  not  at  first  sight  evident  why  the  inanimate  objects 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  51 

of  nature  should  be  so  possessed.  Every  river  and  lake, 
mountain  and  hill,  tree  and  shrub,  stick  and  stone,  is  the 
dwelling  place  of  some  spirit.  The  clouds,  the  stars,  the 
sun  and  the  moon  likewise  are  what  they  are  because  of 
indwelling  spirit.  Savage  man  lives  in  a  densely  populated 
world.  Not  only  are  these  spirits  the  invisible  souls  of  the 
objects  around  him,  but  there  are  legions  of  free  spirits 
flitting  around  in  the  air,  homeless  wanderers,  not  belong- 
ing in  any  one  place,  but  at  liberty  to  travel  and  range  over 
a  wide  area.  He  may  know  where  many  spirits  are  by  the 
objects  which  they  inhabit,  but  that  does  not  help  him  when 
he  is  in  the  forest  or  crosses  a  river.  He  cannot  tell  when 
and  where  a  mischievous  imp  may  trip  him  as  he  walks  or 
some  devilish  ogre  pull  him  under  the  surface  of  the  water 
and  cause  him  to  drown.  And  then  there  is  the  smallpox 
demon  who  may  attack  his  village,  or  the  blight  which  may 
destroy  his  meager  crop.  Whatever  happens  is  caused  by 
a  spiritual  agency.  "What  spirit  is  it  who  has  killed  my 
cow?"  asks  the  savage,  or  "Who  was  it  that  brought  the 
flood  last  spring?"  The  savage,  in  other  words,  is  an  ani- 
mist;  he  lives  a  world  that  is  alive  and  throbbing  with 
vitality  all  the  time. 

Now,  while  he  believes  in  spirits  this  primitive  man  is 
not  spiritual  in  the  true  sense.  He  has  not  learned  to  dis- 
tinguish between  a  material  and  a  spiritual  world.  To  him 
there  is  no  essential  difference  between  the  visible  and  the 
invisible.  He  may  not  be  able  to  see  the  spirit,  but  it  might 
be  seen,  he  thinks.  He  looks  upon  it  as  a  more  or  less  thin 
vapory  substance  which  has  qualities  not  possessed  by  the 
heavier,  tangible  things  he  sees,  but  is  of  the  same  general 
character.  Very  naturally  he  identifies  the  soul  with  the 
breath,  for  when  a  man  ceases  to  breathe,  his  spirit  or  soul 
has  left.  This  breath  cannot  usually  be  seen,  but  it  can  be 
felt,  and,  on  occasion  when  condensation  takes  place,  it  has 
visible  form  and  can  be  seen  flowing  from  a  man's  mouth 
and  nostrils.  He  identifies  this  with  the  soul  of  the  man 


52  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

himself;  he  has  not  risen  above  the  purely  physical  in  his 
explanation  of  the  spirit  world. 

That  dreams  have  played  an  important  part  in  making 
the  realm  of  the  spirit  real  to  him  there  can  be  little  doubt. 
A  dream  is  just  as  real  an  experience  to  people  living  on 
this  plane  as  the  experience  of  their  waking  moments. 
They  or  their  spirits  actually  do  the  things  they  dream 
about.  While  they  dream  their  bodies  may  remain  in  the 
place  where  they  lay  down,  but  their  spirits  have  traveled 
far  and  have  passed  through  strange  and  wonderful  expe- 
riences. There  is  no  doubt  about  it ;  it  is  altogether  real  to 
them.  The  only  difference  between  dreams  and  death  is 
that  when  one  dreams  his  spirit  has  departed  for  a  season 
only,  while  when  a  man  dies  his  spirit  does  not  come  back. 
Flowing  naturally  from  this  is  his  unfailing  belief  in  a  life 
after  death.  He  continues  to  live  on,  in  a  world  which  he 
has  visited  before.  It  is  perfectly  natural  for  him  to  think 
that  way.  His  ideas  may  differ  according  to  natural  condi- 
tions and  social  environment,  but  the  belief  is  there,  un- 
quenchable and  strong. 

Without  attempting  to  go  back  into  stages  of  development 
man  has  left  behind,  we  find  in  the  mind  of  these  peoples 
today  a  conception  which  may  explain  the  belief  in  spirits 
and  other  ideas  which  are  in  his  mind.  It  is  the  conception 
of  a  mysterious  pervasive  power  present  in  the  universe  and 
recognized  in  many  forms  of  activity.  The  familiar  name 
by  which  it  is  known  is  taken  from  Polynesia,  where  it  is 
called  mana.  But  it  is  known  by  other  names,  manitu  by 
the  Algonquian  family  of  Indians,  orenda  by  the  Iroquoian 
family,  and  wakan  by  the  Sioux,  and  by  still  other  names 
elsewhere.  But  by  whatever  name  it  is  called  it  is  looked 
upon  as  about  the  same  thing.  The  word  mana  came  into 
our  vocabulary  through  the  classic  statement  of  Bishop  R.  H. 
Codrington,  in  his  volume,  The  Melanesians.  "It  is  a  power 
or  influence,  not  physical,  and  in  a  way  supernatural;  but 
it  shows  itself  in  physical  force,  or  in  a  kind  of  power  or 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  53 

excellence  which  a  man  possesses.  This  mana  is  not  fixed 
in  anything,  and  can  be  conveyed  in  almost  anything;  but 
spirits,  whether  disembodied  souls  or  supernatural  beings, 
have  it  and  can  impart  it;  and  it  essentially  belongs  to  per- 
sonal beings  to  originate  it,  though  it  may  act  through  the 
medium  of  water,  or  a  stone,  or  a  bone.'"  Professor  C.  H. 
Toy  sums  up  its  meaning  in  this  short  sentence :  "It  is.  jn  a. 
word,  a  term  for  the  force  residing  in  any  object."4 

It  is  said  that  the  conception  is  not  to  be  found  among  the 
most  degraded  savages,  that  some  further  development 
seems  to  be  necessary  before  men  rise  to  the  thought.  It  is 
true  also  that  as  civilization  advances  the  idea  is  laid  aside 
and  ceases  to  function  as  a  definite  belief.  But  among  ani- 
mistic peoples  as  they  are  found  the  world  over  the  idea  of 
this  quasi-personal  force  is  present  and  very  influential  as 
an  explanation  of  about  all  that  happens.  Men  are  alive 
and  do  things,  chiefs  have  authority,  a  tree  puts  out  fruit 
and  leaves,  an  animal  secures  its  prey,  a  fisherman  is  suc- 
cessful in  his  catch,  and  a  thousand  other  things  are  what 
they  are  and  accomplish  what  is  done,  all  because  of  this 
mysterious  power.  As  we  proceed  in  our  study  of  the  reli- 
gion of  these  people,  of  their  divine  beings  and  their  wor- 
ship, of  magic  and  fetishism,  of  totemism  and  tabu,  re- 
course must  be  had  to  this  conception,  for  without  it  there 
would  be  no  means  of  explaining  the  results  which  appear 
and  the  activities  and  repressions  which  make  up  the  life  of 
the  animistic  peoples. 

THE  HIGHER  POWERS  OF  ANIMISTIC  RELIGION 

What  we  have  been  describing  is  not  religion  but  the  raw 
material  out  of  which  religion  is  made.  Coming  to  the  more 
definite  question  of  the  objects  of  worship,  the  first  thing 
to  be  said  is  that  they  are  tfoe  spirits  of  their  animism,  Not 

'The  Melanesians,  p.  119. 

4  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Religions,  p.  101.  (Ginn,  Boston, 
I9I30 


54  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

all  of  them  are  worshiped,  but  the  more  primitive  peoples 
know  of  no  other  objects  they  may  worship.  Let  us  beware 
just  here  of  concluding  that  these  poor  people  do  much 
thinking  as  we  should  call  it  to-day.  Their  religion  is  far 
more  a  matter  of  the  emotions  than  of  the  intellect.  Their 
minds  are  greatly  confused,  and  what  they  do  depends  far 
more  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment  and  the  excitement 
born  of  a  dance  or  a  period  of  fasting  or  an  impressive 
ceremonial  than  on  sober  thought.  The  instability  of  sav- 
age nerves  is  mentioned  frequently  by  writers  on  the  life 
of  primitive  people.  Their  reactions  are  largely  of  the 
high-strung,  emotional  type  and  cannot  be  understood  with- 
out taking  this  into  consideration.  As  a  result  their  choice 
of  divinities  and  the  worship  accorded  them  is  a  choice 
determined  by  the  emotional  reaction  of  the  savage  to  his 
environment.  He  is  aware  of  scores  and  hundreds  of 
spirits  around  him,  he  turns  to  some  of  them  in  worship, 
and  this  becomes  his  religion. 

We  Hn  not  know  wh^t  spirits  he  worshiped  first.  Herbert 
Spencer's  attempt  to  prove  that  ancestors  were  the  first 
gods  men  worshiped  has  failed  to  convince.  All  we  know 
is  that  man  is  found  worshiping  a  great  variety  of  beings 
and  doing  it  rather  indiscriminately.  The  question  of  inter- 
est, however,  is  to  determine  why  certain  objects  were 
chosen  instead  of  others,  for,  although  the  savage  may  not 
know  why,  there  must  be  some  reason  for  his  choice.  There 
can  be  no  question  that  the  only  being  he  would  worship 
must  be  one  which  for  one  reason  or  another  appears  to 
him  as  possessed  of  power  superior  to  his  own.  For  this 
reason  the  gods  of  these  peoples  are  frequently  called 
Powers.  That  is  the  necessary  and  almost  the  only  nec- 
essary qualification.  In  wisdom,  skill,  cunning,  as  well  as 
in  physical  prowess  he  must  exceed  the  might  of  man. 
This  is  determined  at  times  in  ways  which  to  us  appear 
naive  and  utterly  inadequate.  Mere  physical  force  may 
not  seem  to  us  to  be  indicative  of  superiority,  but  it  does 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  55 

to  a  savage.  But  besides  this  he  is  struck  by  what  is 
strange,  uncanny,  mysterious,  or  even  grotesque  and  queer. 
All  these  aspects  of  the  things  he  finds  go  beyond  his  power 
of  comprehension  and  suggest  strength,  and  often  for  no 
other  reason  than  their  mysteriousness.  And  in  this  way 
the  pantheon,  if  it  can  be  dignified  by  that  name,  of  savage 
people  is  not  consistent  and  the  same.  New  objects  are  con- 
stantly attracting  the  attention  of  the  animist  and  taking 
the  place  of  other  powers  now  shrunk  down  to  more  ordi- 
nary dimensions. 

Inanimate  objects  are  worshiped  wherever  animists  are 
found.  Trees  are  alive  and  provide  shade  and  food — should 
they  not  be  worshiped?  "Although  the  tree  is  rooted  to 
one  spot,  it  responds  to  every  influence  without.  Swayed 
by  the  breeze,  or  smitten  by  the  storm,  it  is  never  at  rest. 
Murmurs  are  heard  in  its  leaves,  or  its  branches  creak  and 
writhe  as  in  agony ;  sounds  are  emitted  from  the  gaunt  stem 
or  hollow  trunk — voices,  the  savage  doubts  not,  of  the  in- 
dwelling spirit  whose  life  seems  permanently  associated 
with  the  fixed  tree."5  Stones  are  also  widely  worshiped. 
To  a  savage  a  stone  is  no  dead  inanimate  object  as  to  us.  It 
is  so  hard  and  sometimes  so  strange  in  color  and  shape  that 
the  savage  is  deeply  fascinated  and  turns  in  real  adoration 
to  it  and  asks  for  some  boon.  Added  to  this  is  the  fact  that 
some  of  these  stones  fell  from  heaven  and  hence  must 
surely  be  divine.  Meteorites  have  been  the  objects  of  adora- 
tion in  many  countries.  "Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians," 
was  the  shout  of  devoted  worshipers  of  an  ugly  aerolite 
within  the  beautiful  temple  built  to  house  it.  Another  such 
stone  was  that  of  Cybele,  the  Great  Mother  of  the  Gods, 
which  was  brought  to  Rome  in  B.  C.  204,  when  the  city  was 
in  danger  of  attack  by  Hannibal.  These  illustrations  show 
the  influence  of  stone  worship  in  religions  which  had  passed 
out  of  the  stage  we  are  now  considering.  In  Nigeria  "when 
men  are  sick  in  town,  we  cast  lots,  and  then  give  food  to 

6  Edward  Clodd,  Animism,  p.  72. 


56  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

the  stones.  We  also  give  them  palm-wine  or  gin."6  But 
besides  these,  plants  and  mountains  and  fire  and  winds  and 
waters  are  objects  of  adoration,  and  in  each  case  there  is 
some  reason  for  the  choice. 

The  greater  objects  of  nature,  the  over-arching  sky,  the 
dazzling  sun,  the  resplendent  moon,  the  distant  stars,  all 
come  in  for  their  share  of  attention  in  the  cult.  But  it  must 
be  said  that  the  lesser  objects  of  nature,  more  nearly  con- 
nected with  their  daily  wants  and  work,  occupy  the  atten- 
tion of  these  simple  people  far  more  than  the  grand,  awe- 
inspiring  heavenly  bodies.  At  a  later  time,  when  religion 
had  achieved  a  higher  level,  these  greater  objects  came  to 
their  own.  The  last  form  assumed  by  paganism  before  it 
went  down  before  Christianity  in  the  fourth  century  was 
the  worship  of  Sol  Invictus,  the  "Invincible  Sun." 

If  objects  inanimate  serve  as  divinities  for  the  savage, 
how  much  more  animals,  full  of  life  and  movement  and 
cunning.  The  majesty  of  the  lion,  the  ferocity  ot  tire 
tiger,  the  wisdom  of  the  elephant,  the  cunning  of  the  fox, 
the  mysteriousness  of  the  snake  led  in  each  case  to  an  atti- 
tude approaching  worship.  They  inspired  fear  and  needed 
propitiation.  This  form  of  worship  was  at  times  carried 
over  into  more  highly  developed  religions,  as  we  shall  see 
strikingly  illustrated  in  the  religion  of  Egypt.  Savages 
attribute  to  animals  a  wisdom  and  cunning  far  beyond  their 
due.  'This  lifts  them  up  to  a  plane  as  high,  if  not  higher, 
than  man  himself  and  makes  worship  seem  quite  natural. 
And  even  where  actual  worship  is  not  paid  to  animals,  they 
are  held  sacred  and  marks  of  respect  and  veneration  are 
shown. 

^The  worship  of  human  beings  is  widely  spread,  though 
it  Is  too  much  to  say  that  it  is  universal.  Living  men, 
chiefs  and  kings,  emperors  and  saints,  have  been  deified  and 
worshiped.  A  great  man  is  possessed  of  power  of  the 
same  kind  as  causes  one  to  tremble  in  the  presence  of  a 

8  Edward  Qodd,  op.  cit,  p.  79^ 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  57 

strong  animal  or  a  rushing  torrent,  and  hence  may  be  wor- 
shiped. But  it  is  to  the  cult  of  the  dead  to  which  attention 
is  now  specially  called.  Historical  personages,  legendary 
or  mythical  ancestors  among  many  peoples  have  been  looked 
upon  as  legitimate  objects  of  worship.  Among  savages, 
however,  as  well  as  among  those  more  civilized,  a  man's 
own  ancestors  have  been  raised  to  a  high  place  among  his 
gods.  A  careful  distinction  must  be  made  between  rever- 
ence and  worship.  In  many  cases  the  attitude  is  not  that  of 
a  worshiper  at  all,  but  when  it  does  rise  to  that  height  it  is 
veritable  worship. 

Death  makes  a  difference.  A  man  cannot  be  the  same 
after  he  dies  that  he  was  when  alive.  Not  hampered  by  his 
body,  he  is  free  to  roam  at  large.  He  has  powers  which 
were  not  his  before.  He  has  not,  however,  become  a  spirit- 
ual being,  in  our  sense  of  the  word,  even  though  he  is  invis- 
ible. He  has  the  same  desires  and  wants.  Food  and  drink, 
clothing  and  weapons,  and  in  the  case  of  the  great  man, 
servants  and  attendants  are  as  necessary  as  before.  He 
has  not  passed  beyond  the  pale  of  his  former  relationships 
and  knows  quite  well  what  is  going  on.  It  is  even  thought 
that  his  condition  in  the  other  world  is  determined,  at  least 
in  part,  by  the  treatment  he  continues  to  receive  from  his 
family.  Should  he  fail  to  receive  what  he  believes  to  be 
his  due,  his  anger  is  aroused  and  he  may  inflict  sore  chas- 
tisement on  his  relatives  here  below.  It  is  chiefly  those  of 
the  past  two  or  three  generations  who  are  worshiped.  Even 
in  China,  where  ancestor  worship  has  been  carried  along 
through  all  the  stages  of  their  development  in  civilization, 
after  the  second  or  third  generation  the  ancestral  tablets  are 
removed  to  the  clan  hall.  When  memory  becomes  weak 
or  fails,  the  ancestor  fades  out  of  the  life  of  the  living  and 
his  place  is  taken  by  those  more  recently  lost. 

What  of  the  motives  which  actuate  men  when  they  wor-_ 
ship  their  departed  dead?  Undoubtedly  love  and  the  desire 
to  treat  well  and  provide  for  their  welfare  have  had  influ- 


58  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

ence  in  the  long  continuance  of  the  custom,  but  the  general 
testimony  is  that  fear  is  as  powerful  if  not  far  more  so  as 
a  motive  to-day.  It  is  well  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  the 
dead.  No  one  can  tell  what  might  happen  if  the  sacrifices 
were  neglected.  As  spirits,  resentful  of  the  neglect  and 
unfaithfulness  of  their  descendants,  they  would  undoubtedly 
bring  ill-luck  and  catastrophe  upon  the  living  family.  Pimsv 
form  of  worship  is  distinctively  social  and  tends  to  keep 
the  family  together  and  gives  its  members  common  inter- 
ests and  a  common  sanction  for  their  ethical  standards. 
These  must  be  lived  up  to,  or  the  family  may  suffer.  In 
this  way  ancestor  worship  has  been  of  benefit  to  the  race. 
One  of  the  most  singular  and  interesting  features  oi 


religion  of  savages  is  fetishism.  Our  term  comes  from  the 
Portuguese  feitigo  (Latin,  facet  'e,  to  make),  a  word  applied 
by  Portuguese  sailors  to  the  objects  held  sacred  by  West 
African  natives,  which  were  regarded  by  the  Europeans  as 
charms  or  talismans.  What  does  it  mean  in  modern  reli- 
gious nomenclature?  It  is  very  confusing,  so  much  so  that 
some  have  been  tempted  to  give  it  up  entirely.  The  philos- 
opher Comte  makes  it  mean  what  we  have  called  by  the 
general  name  of  animism.  Doctor  Nassau  and  Miss  Kings- 
ley  have  given  the  name  to  all  the  religious  practices  of  the 
West  African  Negroes.  It  is  not  in  this  sense  that  we  use 
the  word  here,  but  in  a  much  narrower  sense.  As  Profes- 
sor Menzies  says,  "It  is  best  to  limit  it  to  the  worship  of 
such  natural  objects  as  are  reverenced,  not  for  their  own 
power  or  excellence,  but  because  they  are  supposed  to  be 
occupied  each  by  a  spirit."7 

A  fetish  may  be  any  natural  object  whatever,  but  there 
must  be  some  reason  why  the  native  selects  a  particular 
object,  something  about  it  which  appeals  to  him  and  shows 
that  it  possesses  supernatural  power.  Something  strikes 
him  as  being  out  of  the  ordinary,  and  that  is  enough;  he 
will  take  it  as  his  fetish.  "So  the  fetish  consists  of  a  queer- 

T  History  of  Religion,  p.  33. 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  59 

shaped  stone,  a  bright  bead,  a  stick,  parrots'  feathers,  a 
root,  claw,  seed,  bone,  or  any  curious  or  conspicuous  object." 
Professor  Tylor  relates  the  story  of  how  a  man  chose  a 
stone  about  as  big  as  a  hen's  egg  for  his  fetish.  "He  was 
going  out  on  important  business,  but  crossing  the  thresh- 
old he  trod  on  this  stone  and  hurt  himself.  'Ha,  ha! 
thought  he,  'art  thou  here?'  So  he  took  the  stone,  and  it 
helped  him  through  his  undertaking  for  days."8 

In  West  Africa  a  fetish  is  not  so  much  found  as  made 
or  concocted  by  the  witch-doctor  or  medicine-man.  We  may 
quote  from  Doctor  R.  H.  Nassau: 

"The  next  step,  the  admixture  of  the  ingredients,  is  secret. 
They  are  ground  or  triturated,  or  reduced  to  ashes,  and 
only  the  ash  or  charcoal  of  their  wood  is  used.  Among  the 
common  ingredients  are  colored  earths,  chalk,  or  potter's 
blue  clay.  Beyond  the  usual  constituents  constantly  em- 
ployed there  are  other  single  ones,  which  vary  according 
to  the  end  to  be  obtained  by  the  user  of  the  fetish — for  one 
end,  as  elsewhere  already  mentioned,  some  portion  of  an 
enemy's  body;  for  another,  an  ancestor's  powdered  brain; 
for  another,  the  liver  or  gall-bladder  of  an  animal;  for  an- 
other, a  finger  of  a  dead  first-born  child;  for  another,  a 
certain  fish;  and  so  on  for  a  thousand  possibilities.  These 
ingredients  are  compounded  in  secret,  and  with  public  drum- 
ming, dancing,  songs  to  the  spirit,  looking  into  limpid  water 
or  a  mirror,  and  sometimes  with  the  addition  of  jugglers' 
tricks,  for  example,  the  eating  of  fire. 

"The  ingredients  having  been  thus  properly  prepared, 
and  the  spirit,  according  to  the  magician's  declarations, 
having  associated  itself  lovingly  with  these  mixed  articles, 
they  and  it  are  put  into  the  cavity  of  the  selected  horn  or 
other  hollow  thing  (a  gourd,  a  nut  shell,  and  so  forth). 
They  are  packed  in  firmly.  A  black  resin  is  plastered  over 
the  opening.  .  .  .  While  the  resin  is  still  soft,  the  red  tail- 

8  Both  quotations  from  Haddon,  Magic  and  Fetishism,  p.  73.  (Con- 
stable, London,  1910.) 


60  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

feathers  of  the  gray  African  parrot  are  stuck  into  it.  This 
description  is  typical.'" 

Now,  the  fetish  is  very  much  like  a  man.  It  possesses 
personality  and  will;  it  can  feel  and  knows  the  meaning  of 
anger  and  resentment  as  well  as  gratitude  and  kindness.  It 
is  also  quite  human  in  that  while  the  particular  spirit  which 
belongs  to  the  natural  object  can  belong  to  no  other,  it  can 
be  and  is  sometimes  separated  from  the  object  and  seems  to 
disappear.  Then  the  natural  object  ceases  to  be  of  any 
value;  that  is,  it  ceases  to  be  a  fetish.  Everything  depends 
on  the  presence  of  the  spirit  to  make  the  fetish  object  a 
source  of  benefit  to  its  possessor. 

The  fetish  is  treated  as  an  object  of  worship,  has  offerings 
made  to  it,  and  is  addressed  in  prayer.  But  this  is  only  a 
part  of  the  procedure.  If  the  ends  sought  are  not  gained 
in  this  way,  the  attitude  changes  and  the  fetish  is  coaxed 
and  even  commanded  to  bring  about  the  desired  result.  If 
this  does  not  succeed,  the  little  thing  is  scolded  for  its  dis- 
obedience and  may  be  compelled  to  submit  to  a  whipping. 
And,  finally,  if  this  vigorous  treatment  proves  unsuccess- 
ful, the  conclusion  is  reached  that  the  spirit  has  departed, 
or  at  any  rate  that  some  more  powerful  spirit  is  interfering 
with  the  operation  of  the  fetish.  About  all  there  is  to  do 
after  such  a  discovery  is  made  is  to  lay  it  aside  or  throw 
it  away  altogether.  The  savage  does  not  lose  faith  in  his 
theory  or  in  the  practice;  he  has  only  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  particular  fetish  he  had  is  of  no  use — he  must 
proceed  to  find  another. 

A  number  of  theories  have  been  advanced  concerning  the 
origin  of  fetishism  and  its  relation  to  the  development  of 
religion.  That  it  is  a  very  low  form  of  religioq  no  one  can 
deny.  This  has  led  some  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  the 
earliest  form  of  religion,  the  crude  beginning  of  man's 
attempt  to  relate  himself  to  powers  recognized  as  stronger 
than  himself.  Others  feel  that  it  is  a  backward  step  from  a 

'Fetishism  in  West  Africa,  p.  inf.    (Duckworth,  London,  1904.) 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  61 

form  of  religion  which  was  developing  in  the  right  direc- 
tion, but  which  received  this  serious  setback.  Professor 
Menzies  speaks  of  a  fetish  as  "a  deity  at  his  disposal,"  not 
above  man,  but  below  him,  which  if  it  will  not  do  what  man 
wants  at  his  request,  must  be  made  to  do  so  by  coercion. 


So  far  as  the  origin  of  this  strange  form  of  "religion  is 
concerned,  we  shall  probably  never  be  able  to  find  a  satis- 
factory explanation.  But  we  may  do  that  which  is  of  more 
significance,  realize  its  meaning  and  evaluate  it  as  one  of 
the  manifestations  of  man's  need  of  help  from  higher 
powers>sWe  can  only  come  to  such  an  understanding,  how- 


ever, by  studying  fetishism  in  its  relationship  to  magic, 
which  will  appear  in  a  later  section  of  the  chapter.  Suffice 
it  to  say  here  that  fetishism  is  a  deadening  influence  in  the 
life  of  the  animist.  and  is  one  of  the  factors  which  tendjo 
keep  him  down  in  the  mire  of  dread  and  apprehension  in 
\yhich  his  life  is  so  largely  lived. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  higher  powers  which 
are  worshiped  by  animistic  peoples  we  must  take  up  a  ques- 
tion of  real  interest,  but  at  the  same  time  of  great  difficulty. 
It  is  the  theory  that  in  addition  to  the  many  spirits  and 
demons  of  his  animism  the  savage  possesses  a  conception  of 
a  supreme  spirit  over  and  above  them  all.  The  controversy 
which  has  raged  is  not  so  much  over  the  presence  of  the 
conception,  which  is  quite  generally  recognized,  but  has  to 
do  with  the  origin  and  significance  of  the  belief  among 
savage  peoples.  Andrew  Lang  brought  the  whole  question 
to  a  focus  in  his  volume  The  Making  of  Religion.  His 
claim  is  that,  while  the  savage  peopled  the  universe  with 
spirits  in  accordance  with  his  general  animistic  outlook,  by 
another  channel,  through  a  kind  of  intuition,  he  placed  an 
All-Father  in  the  supreme  place  far  above  the  world  of  his 
spirits.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  conception  lends  itself 
readily  to  the  theory  of  a  primitive  monotheism,  that  before 
man  believed  in  higher  powers  in  the  form  of  the  spirits  of 
his  animism  he  had  in  his  mind  a  single  being,  the  creator 


62  THE  RELIGIONS  OF  MANKIND 

« 

of  all,  the  one  on  whom  he  was  dependent  and  to  whom  he 
offered  worship.  It  is  acknowledged  at  the  same  time  that 
no  tribe  of  savages  is  to  be  found  with  this  pure  belief 
to-day.  In  addition  their  world  is  filled  with  countless 
spirits  and  demons  with  whom  they  are  intimately  related 
in  the  affairs  of  everyday  life.  And  what  belief  remains  of 
this  Creative  Father  is  exceedingly  hazy.  It  is  far  in  the 
background  of  their  thinking  and  not  closely  connected  with 
what  they  plan  and  carry  out  in  their  ordinary  employ- 
ments. They  do  not  even  worship  this  far-distant  being. 
They  seem  to  feel  that  he  is  too  far  away  to  be  interested 
in  the  things  which  concern  them.  He  is  there  as  a  con- 
ception and  that  is  about  all.  They  are  not  monotheists  in 
reality.  The  presence  of  the  belief  does  not  seem  to  raise 
their  thoughts,  nor  to  prevent  them  from  a  thousand  prac- 
tices which  are  utterly  out  of  keeping  with  such  a  lofty 
conception. 

But  it  is  there.  What  shall  be  done  with  it?  It  runs 
counter  to  Tylor's  theory  that  only  as  man  advanced  out  of 
cruder  conceptions  could  he  conceive  of  a  god  in  the  mono- 
theistic sense.  One  suggestion  which  has  been  made  is  that 
the  idea  is  not  original  in  the  savage  mind  at  all,  but  has  been 
put  there  through  contact  with  Christian  missionaries.  This 
may  have  been  the  case  in  some  places,  even  where  the 
people  have  no  memory  of  any  such  obligation  to  the  white 
man  from  across  the  seas.  The  memory  of  people  who 
live  by  tradition  is  very  short  and  confused.  But  it  would 
be  very  reckless  to  claim  that  this  was  the  only  source  of 
the  belief.  It  is  too  widely  extended  and  too  deeply  im- 
bedded in  the  popular  consciousness  to  be  accounted  for  in 
that  way.  Andrew  Lang's  own  explanation  is  not  alto- 
gether satisfying,  not  so  much  because  primitive  man  could 
not  think  monotheistically  if  the  thought  were  suggested  to 
him,  but  because  it  seems  so  utterly  unlike  anything  else  in 
his  development  and  so  useless  in  his  life,  as  the  relation- 
ship which  he  holds  to  the  conception  amply  demonstrates. 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  63 

We  do  not  know  how  it  arose.  It  may  have  been  by  the 
legendary  embellishment  of  the  traditions  of  a  great  tribal 
hero.  The  myth-making  tendency  is  always  at  work  and 
seeks  to  explain  origins  and  striking  phenomena  by  telling 
stories  about  natural  objects,  animals,  and  men,  and  making 


them  creators  and  saviours  of  men  and  tribes.  /But  what-' 
ever  may  be  the  correct  explanation,  we  cannot  go  far  wrong 
by  tying  up  this  phenomenon  with  others  more  easily  under- 
stood which  have  their  explanation  in  the  working  of  the 
principle  of  analogy.  He  could  scarcely  arrive  at  a  con- 
clusion utterly  out  of  touch  with  his  previous  experience. 
He  has  his  intuitions,  but  intuitions  are  strongly  emotional 
and  are  not  likely  to  lead  to  what  is  distinctly  an  intellectual 
conception.  What  it  does  show  is  that  man  has  the  capacity 
for  such  high  thinking  and  gives  evidence  of  it  even  in  his 
primitive  state.  He  was  made  for  monotheism  and  gives 
promise  of  attaining  it,  by  even  these  vague  thoughts  which 
point  in  that  direction.  _ 

Are  the  gods  or  higher  powers  of  animistic  leliglOli 


gods?  What,  in  other  words,  is  their  character?  We 
already  have  a  clue;  the  powers  partake  of  the  character 
of  the  nature  from  which  they  are  taken,  and  the  simple 
fact  is  nature  has  no  moral  character.  It  is  not  moral  nor 
immoral,  but  nonmoral;  it  is  neutral  ethically.  There  is 
another  side  to  the  question:  nature  may  not  be  good  or 
evil  in  a  high  moral  sense,  but  she  does  not  treat  people  in 
the  same  way  on  all  occasions.  Sometimes  she  is  like  a 
tender  mother  or  a  beautiful  summer  afternoon,  when  peace 
reigns  everywhere  and  no  sign  of  disturbance  appears  on 
the  horizon.  But  nature  has  other  moods  and  may  become 
as  fierce  and  ravenous  as  a  wild  beast,  "red  in  tooth  and 
claw."  A  West  Indian  hurricane,  a  tornado,  an  earthquake, 
a  tidal  wave,  a  volcanic  eruption  all  represent  another  side, 
which  is  very  different  from  the  calm  and  quiet  of  an  au- 
tumn sunset.  Yet  all  come  from  the  same  source  —  what 
can  the  savage  think  of  nature  and  the  spirits  who  are  so 


64  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

kind  and  also  so  destructive?  In  his  mind  they  may  have 
a  common  origin,  but  he  distinguishes  between  the  spirits 
which  are  beneficent  and  kind  and  the  demons  which  are 
constantly  seeking  to  do  him  harm. 

The  strange  thing,  however,  is  that  the  mind  of  the  sav- 
age is  occupied  far  more  with  the  demons  whose  influence 
^e  is  seeking  to  escapejjqan  the  good  spirits  which  might 
be  depended  nt?  \n  take  his  sif|e  and  accompli sjhjhjgjjpsire^ 
It  is  exceeding  doubtful  whether,  before  man  had  begun 
to  till  the  soil  and  thus  formulate  the  conception  of  the 
gods  and  goddesses  of  fertility  and  agriculture,  his  mind 
was  not  so  occupied  with  the  malignant  spirits  which  were 
constantly  on  the  watch  to  do  him  injury  that  little  oppor- 
tunity was  offered  for  thought  about  the  good  spirits  whom 
he  might  have  discovered.  But  when  the  age  of  agriculture 
is  reached  unmistakable  signs  indicate  that  the  soil  which 
furnishes  food  for  man  and  beast  is  looked  upon  as  kindly. 
"Mother-Earth"  is  the  term  used  to  express  this  feeling  of 
gratitude  and  dependence.  She  at  least  could  be  depended 
on.  But  even  then  the  fear  of  the  evil  spirits  which  bring 
blight  and  drought  and  the  grasshopper  is  not  absent.  He 
has  confidence  in  certain  spirits,  but  he  lives  a  life  of  fear 
nevertheless,  a  life  not  to  be  envied  as  idyllic  by  those  who 
live  under  more  favorable  conditions.  So  long  as  man 
remains  in  the  tribal  form  of  organization  he  seems  unable 
to  rise  above  the  purely  natural  into  the  realm  of  ethical 
good.  He  has  his  standards  of  action,  and  the  moral  does 
enter  in  and  determine  to  some  extent  his  conduct,  but,  to 
use  Professor  Galloway's  words,  "There  are  no  instances 
of  the  evolution  of  an  ethical  religion  by  a  tribal  group."10 

TOTEMISM  AND  TABU 

Our  main  interest  is  religion,  but  closely  connected  with 
the  religion  of  animistic  peoples  are  customs  and  practices 
without  which  their  life — and  consequently  their  religion — 

10  Philosophy  of  Religion,  p.  108. 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  65 

would  be  very  different.  One  of  these  is  totemism.  Now, 
a  totem  is  an  animal  (or  a  plant  or  even,  in  a  few  cases._an 
inanimate  obiecO  very  closely  related  to  a  ^oup,jvhich 
^because  of  that  relationship,  holds  it  as  something  sacrejT. 
The  word  "totem"  comes  from  the  language  of  the  Ojibway 
Indians  (Chippewa)  and  signifies  "a  group."  This  relation 
of  the  group  to  its  totem  separates  it  from  other  groups, 
each  with  its  own  totem.  It  thus  became  a  form  of  social 
organization  determining  many  features  of  the  life  of  the 
tribe.  It  is  found  developed  most  fully  among  the  Amer- 
ican Indians  and  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  Australia,  but  clear 
indications  of  its  presence  are  to  be  discovered  in  many 
other  regions.  There  are  those  who  believe  that  totemism 
is  a  stage  of  development  through  which  all  peoples  have 
passed,  and  that  it  is  essential  in  order  to  explain  many 
features  of  subsequent  development.  The  difficulty  in  de- 
termining this  fact  is  that  what  may  seem  to  be  a  survival 
of  totemism  may  turn  out  to  be  only  a  survival  of  ordinary 
animal  worship. 

Totemism  is  so  complex  and  multiform  that  no  attempt 
can  be  made  to  describe  it  here.  Its  connection  with  reli- 
gion, however,'  may  be  pointed  out.  The  totem  animalT  to 
which  the  totem  group  believes  itself  related,  is  frequently 
regarded  as  the  ancestor  of  the  group.  There  is  no  diffi- 
culty among  savages  to  believe  in  so  close  a  relationship 
between  men  and  animals.  They  are  so  much  alike  that  pas- 
sage from  one  species  to  another  is  not  strange  nor  unheard 
of  in  his  tales  repeated  by  the  fireside.  As  the  ancestor  of  a 
group  of  men  and  women  the  animal  may  even  be  wor- 
shiped. It  must  not  be  killed  or  maltreated.  The  only 
exception  to  this  rule  is  that  among  some  peoples  the  totem 
animal  is  killed  on  certain  important  occasions  and  eaten 
sacramentally  by  all  who  belong  to  that  totem  clan.  They 
look  upon  it  as  a  reestablishment  of  the  bond  between  the 
group  and  its  totem,  thus  insuring  friendly  relations  during 
the  time  to  come.  But  even  where  this  custom  does  not 


66  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

prevail  and  no  worship  is  offered,  the  people  are  bound  to- 
gether closely  and  look  upon  what  they  do  religiously  as 
well  as  in  other  ways  as  a  common  act.  A  common  obliga- 
tion holds  them  together  and  leads  them  to  feel  a  sense  of 
mutual  obligation  and  responsibility. 

Closely  connected  with  totemism  are  several  other  cus- 
toms most  important  in  the  life  of  the  savage.  There  is,  in 
the  first  place,  exogamy,  or  marriage  outside  the  totem  clan. 
This  custom  is  very  widely  spread  and  is  one  of  the  most 
beneficial  provisions  in  savage  life.  It  effectually  prevents 
intermarriage  between  close  relatives — effectually,  for  the 
savage  does  not  break  over  these  unwritten  but  absolutely 
binding  customs.  The  origin  of  exogamy  is  unknown.  How 
did  such  a  beneficial  rule  come  into  existence  among  people 
so  far  down  in  the  social  scale  ?  Professor  Wilhelm  Wundt, 
in  his  Elements  of  Folk  Psychology,  disagrees  violently 
with  the  theory  that  exogamy  arose  with  the  conscious  in- 
tention of  avoiding  marriage  within  the  bonds  of  near  rela- 
tionship, as  beneficial  as  the  custom  proved  to  be.  He  holds 
that  a  scholar  like  Professor  J.  G.  Frazer  ascribes  far  too 
much  intelligence  and  foresight  to  men  in  this  backward 
condition.  The  complicated  organization  of  social  life  to 
which  exogamy  belongs  is  the  result  of  a  long  development 
and  not  the  deliberate  plan  of  the  so-called  "wise  ancestors" 
of  the  present-day  savage.  It  is  hard  to  avoid  Professor 
Wundt's  conclusion  that  "the  phenomena  arose  in  the  course 
of  a  long  period  of  time,  out  of  conditions  immanent  in  the 
life  and  cult  of  these  tribes."" 

Among  a  great  many  savage  peoples  certain  rites  of  initia- 
tion are  practiced  upon  young  men  and  women.  When  at 
the  time  of  puberty  they  pass  out  of  childhood  into  man- 
hood and  womanhood  they  are  initiated  into  the  secret  lore 
of  their  people.  Then  is  disclosed  to  them  the  meaning  of 
customs  and  practices  previously  withheld,  and  they  are 
admitted  fully  into  the  life  of  the  tribe.  The  ceremonies 

11  P.  166.    (Macmillan,  New  York,  1916.) 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  67 

are  long  and  complicated  and  subject  the  initiates  to  great 
pain  and  weird  and  disgusting  ordeals.  Accompanied  by 
noise  and  dances  which  render  the  night  hideous,  the  ritual 
is  performed  in  strict  adherence  to  the  traditions  handed 
down  from  generation  to  generation.  These  ceremonies  are 
largely  social,  but  some  of  the  secrets  divulged  are  of  a 
religious  nature,  having  to  do  with  sacred  objects  and  the 
cult  connected  with  them. 

Tabu  (taboo)  comes  from  the  Polynesian  tapu,  which 
means  "sacred"  or  "prohibited."  Thus  the  term  means,  as 
a  noun,  a  prohibition  placed  upon  contact  with  or  use  of 
certain  things  set  aside  as  peculiarly  sacred.  Its  connection 
with  totemism  is  that  the  totem  is  "tabu"  to  the  members  of 
tha,t  totem  clan,  but  tabu  has  a  far  wider  application  than 
that.  It  is  a  widespread  idea,  and  all  over  the  world  the 
practice  is  in  full  force,  affecting  the  acts  and  plans  of  men 
in  almost  all  their  relationships.  An  illustration  may  be 
taken  from  the  Todas,  a  backward  people  in  South  India, 
whose  religion  centers  around  a  dairy-ritual.  "Many,  though 
not  all,  of  their  buffaloes  are  sacred,  and  their  milk  may  not 
be  drunk.  The  reason  why  it  may  not  be  drunk  anthropolo- 
gists may  cast  about  to  discover,  but  the  Todas  themselves 
do  not  know.  All  that  they  know,  and  are  concerned  to 
know,  is  that  things  would  somehow  all  go  wrong  if  anyone 
were  foolish  enough  to  commit  such  a  sin.  So  in  the  Toda 
temple,  which  is  a  dairy,  the  Toda  priest,  who  is  the  dairy- 
man, sets  about  rendering  the  sacred  products  harmless.  .  .  . 
Thus  the  ritual  is  essentially  precautionary.  A  taboo  is  the 
hinge  of  the  whole  affair."12 

The  question  may  be  asked  relative  to  tabu,  why  the  pro- 
hibition is  placed  upon  an  object,  thus  rendering  it  sacred^ 
and  inviolable.  Professor  Frazer's  explanation  is  that  it  is 
because  contact  with  the  object  is  supposed  to  bring  to  the 
one  guilty  or  unfortunate  enough  to  touch  it  some  quality 
or  characteristic  it  possesses,  and  this,  while  normal  to  the 

12  R.  R.  Marett,  Anthropology,  p.  2i;f.    (Heath,  New  York.) 


68  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

original  possessor,  would  be  a  baneful  influence  to  the  one 
who  secured  it  by  his  deliberate  or  inadvertent  contact. 
But  Professor  Marett  would  go  a  step  further  and  account 
for  the  fear  of  contact  by  mdna.  The  object  or  the  person 
which  is  tabu  is  believed  to  possess  an  especially  large 
amount  of  that  mysterious  power  which  if  released  by  con- 
tact will  cause  calamity,  pain,  ill  luck,  and  even  death.  The 
main  difficulty  with  the  whole  theory  as  held  by  savage 
people  is  that  it  is  devoid  of  reasonable  regulation.  The, 
practice  runs  wild  and  no  discrimination  is  made  between^, 
prohibition  whirh  is  wise  an^  preventive  of  harrnarKJ  a 
prohibition  which  can  only  hamper  normallTf  e  ancUcTivTly: 
At  even  a  much  later  day  it  was  exceedingly  difficulH?orlHe~ 
Jewish  people  to  see  the  difference  between  ai^ceremoniaT 
prohibition  and  one  which  involved  moral  and  social  issues. 
Jesus'  relation  to  the  Jewish  Sabbath  is  a  case'ltTjgjnf: 
He  broke  through  the  merely  ceremonial  tabus  which  made 
the  day  a  burden  and,  by  declaring  that  the  Sabbath  was 
made  for  man,  turned  the  attention  to  the  underlying  social 
and  helpful  purposes  to  which  the  day  should  be  dedicated. 
Let  us  note,  however,  that  the  idea  of  the  sacred  and  the 
holy,  things  which  should  not  be  profaned,  existed  in  the 
earliest  forms  of  religion.  It  is  an  idea  which  only  needed 
elevation  and  reasonable  direction  to  be  fitted  to  function 
in  the  highest  forms  of  religion.  We  shall  never  reach  the 
point  where  recognition  of  what  is  holy,  in  human  life  and 
relationship  with  God,  must  not  be  counted  upon  to  protect 
life  from  the  irreverence  which  would  ruin  all  possibility 
of  development. 

ANIMISTIC  WORSHIP 

Up  to  the  present  time  we  have  been  dealing  largely  with 
belief,  what  the  savage  thinks  about  the  world  in  which  he 
lives,  the  spirits  which  are  everywhere,  and  about  himself 
and  his  fellows.  He  has  his  theories,  and  they  effectively 
control  his  life  and  its  relationships.  But  he  acts  as  well  as 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  69 

thinks;  he  doubtless  acts  before  he  thinks;  to  him  an  act 
is  more  important  than  the  thought  he  has  'about  it.  SH£ 
dents  of  the  early  forms  of  religion  are  indebted  to  Profes- 
sor W.  Robertson  Smith  for  pointing  out  that  ritual  pre- 
cedes belief,  that  the  reaction  of  a  savage  to  his  environ- 
ment is  first  of  all  emotional,  an  act,  a  dance,  a  ceremonial, 
and  only  latterly  an  intellectual  thing,  a  belief  or  a  concep- 
tion. It  is  far  more  a  matter  of  his  feet  and  hands  than  of 
his  head.  So  in  discussing  the  worship  of  the  animistic 
peoples  we  are  entering  into  the  very  citadel  of  their  reli- 
gious life,  into  that  which  to  them  is  religion  itself. 

The  motive  which  actuates  his  worship — is  it  fear  or 
jrust  ?  Does  he  have  confidence  in  the  spirits  with  which  he 
deals  or  is  he  afraid  of  them  that  they  may  do  him  injury 
unless  he  does  something  to  propitiate  them  or  ward  them 
off?  We  have  already  seen  that  the  savage  knows  of  benefi- 
cent spirits  who  bring  him  the  good  things  he  has,  but  this 
is  a  very  little  part  of  the  story.  His  mind  is  occupied 
rather  with  the  thousand  evil-minded  spirits,  the  imps  and 
demons,  who  would  crush  him  if  they  could,  and  are  con- 
stantly seeking  opportunity  to  do  so.  Many  witnesses  are 
forthcoming  to  tell  of  their  experience  among  savage 
peoples,  an  experience  of  agony  as  they  have  witnessed  the 
dread  and  terror  which  fill  the  savage  mind.  We  choose 
but  one  of  these  testimonies,  that  of  J.  H.  Weeks,  who  spent 
fifteen  years  among  the  Boloki  of  the  Upper  Congo.  He 
tells  us:  "Their  system  of  belief  has  its  basis  in  their  fear 
of  those  numerous  invisible  spirits — invisible  to  the  ordi- 
nary man,  but  not  to  the  medicine  man — which  are  con- 
stantly trying  to  compass  their  sickness,  misfortune,  and 
death;  and  the  Boloki's  sole  object — and  the  same  may  be 
written  of  his  near  and  distant  neighbors  on  the  Congo — 
is  to  cajole  or  appease,  to  cheat  or  conquer,  and  even  destroy 
the  troublesome  spirits,  hence  their  witch-doctors  with  their 
fetishes,  their  rites  and  ceremonies.  If  there  were  no 
spirits  to  be  circumvented,  there  would  be  no  need  of 


70  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

medicine  men  as  middlemen,  and  no  need  of  fetishes  as 
mediums  for  getting  into  touch  with  the  spirits."18 

It  is  no  beautiful  picture  which  confronts  us  when  we 
penetrate  into  the  inner  life  of  the  savage  peoples  of  the 
world,  and  only  distance  makes  possible  a  certain  enchant- 
ment as  the  "simple,  rustic  life"  of  a  primitive  tribe  is  de- 
scribed by  the  traveler,  who   fails  to  penetrate  the  dark 
recesses  "at  the  back  of  the  black  man's  mind."    One  fur- 
ther quotation  is  needed  to  complete  the  picture  and  relieve 
the  strain.    After  a  description  of  the  dread  which  is  pres- 
/       ent  in  the  minds  of  the  Bantu  peoples  of  Africa,  we  read 
\t/        again,  "However,  it  would  be  no  doubt  a  great  mistake  to 
\V  imagine  that  the  minds  of  the  Bantu,  or,  indeed,  of  any  sav- 

vx    /          ages,  are  perpetually  occupied  by  a  dread  of  evil  spirits ;  the 
0    >>     savage  and,  indeed,  the  civilized  man  is  incapable,  at  least 
^       in  his  normal  state,  of  such  excessive  preoccupation  with  a 
/    single  idea,  which,  if  prolonged,  could  hardly  fail  to  end 
in  insanity."1*    We  undoubtedly  have  in  this  ^attitude  of  fear 
on  the  part  of  the  savage  the  best  explanation  of  his  back- 
ward state.    Nobility  of  character  and  the  development  of 
society  never  spring  from  the  disorganizing  motive  of  fear. 
To  develop  the  possibilities  in  man  and  to  organize  his  life 
in  ever  higher  forms  of  social  intercourse  require  a  basis  of 
trust  and  confidence — trust  and  confidence  in  one  another, 
and  even  more  fundamentally  in  the  spirits  and  powers  on 
whom  they  are  dependent.     And  these  things  cannot  be 
found  and  do  not  exist  in  savage  life  and  religion. 

Sacrifice  must  be  taken  up  first  in  the  presentation  of 
worship ;  indeed,  in  early  religion  the  two  are  almost  synon- 
ymous. To  come  directly  to  the  objects  which  are  offered 
in  sacrifice,  the  general  statement  may  be  made  that  they 
are  the  things  which  man  himself  needs  or  desires  for  his 
nourishment  and  comfort  and  pleasure.  Here  is  analogy  at 
work  again;  the  spirits  are  sufficiently  like  men  to  need 


13  Among  Congo  Cannibals,  p.  259. 
"Folk-lore,  xx,  1909,  p.  51  f. 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  71 

what  they  need  and  like  what  they  like.  So  food  and  drink, 
clothing  and  utensils  constitute  the  body  of  sacrifice  the 
world  over.  Analogy  has  even  gone  further  and  demanded 
the  sacrifice  of  human  beings — slaves,  servants,  children, 
wives — to  satisfy  the  beings  who  surely  must  need  these 
things  as  men  do.  A  certain  valise  must  always  attach  to  the 
object  offered,  or  it  is  not  efficacious.  Life  is  the  most  pre- 
cious thing  in  the  world,  and  this  recognition  has  led  to  the 
taking  of  life  in  sacrifice  and  offering  it  to  the  higher  pow- 
ers. This  led  very  early  and  widely  to  the  offering  of  human 
life,  and  the  custom  continued  until  the  sensibilities  of  men 
turned  against  such  inhumanity  with  horror  and  animals 
were  substituted  for  human  beings.  But  even  to-day  the 
practice  prevails  in  places  and  is  with  difficulty  rooted  up 
by  civilized  governments  which  have  made  themselves  re- 
sponsible for  the  conduct  of  savage  tribes.  The  story  of 
the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  in  the  book  of  Genesis  is  the  story  of 
the  transition  from  human  sacrifice  to  the  acceptance  of  an 
animal  substitute.  The  letting  of  blood  has  been  a  feature 
of  sacrifice  from  the  earliest  day,  the  idea  being  everywhere 
present  that  in  some  very  real  fashion  "the  life  is  the  blood," 
and  so  to  sacrifice  by  the  effusion  of  blood  is  to  be  sure  that 
the  life  itself  has  been  offered  to  the  power  before  whom 
one  stands. 

"The  head  of  the  animal  or  man  may  be  cut  off  (and  cus- 
tom often  requires  that  a  single  blow  shall  suffice),  its  spine 
broken  or  its  heart  torn  out;  it  may  be  stoned,  beaten  to 
death  or  shot,  torn  in  pieces,  drowned  or  buried,  burned 
to  death  or  hung,  thrown  down  a  precipice,  strangled  or 
squeezed  to  death.  The  sacrifices  may  aim  at  causing  a  speedy 
death  or  a  slow  one.  The  corpse  may  be  burned,  in  part  or 
as  a  whole ;  portions  may  be  assigned  to  the  priest,  the  sacri- 
ficer,  and  the  gods ;  the  skull,  bones,  etc.,  may  receive  special 
treatment;  the  fat  or  blood  may  be  set  aside,  and  they  or 
the  ashes  may  be  singled  out  as  the  share  of  the  god,  to  be 
offered  upon  the  altar;  the  skin  of  the  victim  may  be  em- 


72  THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

ployed  as  a  covering  for  idol  or  material  representative  of 
the  god,  either  permanently  or  till  the  next  animal  sacri- 
fice. The  blood  of  the  victim  may  be  drunk  by  the  priest 
as  a  means  of  inducing  inspiration,  its  entrails  may  be  em- 
ployed in  divination,  its  flesh  consumed  in  a  common  meal, 
exposed  to  the  birds  and  beasts  of  prey,  or  buried  in  the 
earth,"16  so  varied  are  the  usages  in  the  practice  of  sacrifice 
in  different  parts  of  the  world. 

To  placate  an  angry  god  is  one  idea  lying  back  of  sacrifice 
everywhere.  It  is  not  the  only  purpose,  but  it  prevails  as 
widely  as  sacrifice  is  found.  He  may  be  rendered  propitious 
by  gifts  or  bought  off  by  the  bounty  which  is  spread  before 
him.  In  the  dire  straits  to  which  he  is  often  reduced  the 
savage  is  willing  to  do  anything  to  secure  immunity  from 
disease  or  security  from  any  one  of  a  hundred  dangers 
which  surround  him.  But  he  has  another  purpose  in  many 
of  his  sacrifices.  He  is  conscious,  or  the  group  is,  that  the 
god  is  displeased  because  of  something  wrong  that  has  been 
done.  A  tabu  has  been  broken  or  a  custom  has  been  in- 
fringed, and  the  god  must  be  propitiated,  he  must  be  ren- 
dered friendly  again.  Again  a  sacrifice  is  offered  by  way  of 
atoning  for  the  wrong  done.  An  animal  may  be  killed  or 
burned,  the  sins  may  be  laid  on  a  scape-goat  and  the  animal 
sent  out  in  the  wilderness  bearing  away  the  guilt  of  the 
people.  The  guilt  is  acknowledged  and  the  right  of  the  god 
to  punish  is  recognized.  The  god  is  willing  to  accept  a  sub- 
stitute in  an  animal  slain,  and  thus  the  idea  of  the  vicarious- 
ness  of  suffering  and  punishment  is  established.  These  con- 
ceptions come  to  their  fruition  only  in  the  higher  religions 
where  the  sense  of  sin  has  become  clear  and  poignant,  but 
the  ideas  themselves  root  back  into  the  earlier  forms  when 
men  began  to  feel  a  sense  of  responsibility  to  higher  powers. 

The  attempt  to  discover  the  earliest  form  of  sacrifice, 
that  out  of  which  all  the  other  forms  have  developed,  has 

18  N.  W.  Thomas,  article.  "Sacrifice,"  Encyclopaedia  Britannica, 
nth  edition. 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  73 

proved  futile.  Without  doubt  sacrifice  does  not  hark  back 
to  any  one  single  form.  The  attempt  has  been  made  to 
carry  back  every  form  to  the  eating  of  the  totem  animal 
by  the  totem  clan,  where  it  is  claimed  that  the  animal  is 
thought  of  as  being  eaten  in  common  by  the  god  and  his 
people,  thus  establishing  a  more  enduring  friendship  between 
them.  But  this  sacrifice  may  not  be  real  communion  at  all ; 
it  may  be  a  meal  which  is  significant  because  by  eating  of  a 
sacred  animal  some  of  the  desired  qualities  may  pass  into 
the  life  of  the  eater.  Sacrifices  are  made  to  ancestors  to 
provide  them  with  needed  articles  or  the  consolations  of  hu- 
man companionship  in  the  world  to  which  they  have  gone. 
Human  sacrifice  may  have  originated  in  this  way.  Some  of 
the  bloody  holocausts  which  have  been  offered  in  Africa 
within  recent  years  have  been  immediately  after  the  death 
of  a  great  chief. 

Closely  connected  with  sacrifice  is  prayer.  It  may  be  that 
the  earliest  prayer  was  a  call  to  the  spirits  to  come  and  par- 
take of  the  sacrifice  which  had  been  offered.  It  is  always 
the  expression  of  a  desire,  the  making  of  a  request  that  this 
or  that  may  or  may  not  take  place.  It  is  the  instinctive 
utterance  of  the  human  heart  when  in  distress  or  threatened 
by  some  danger.  It  is  usually  offered  in  time  of  need  when 
supernatural  help  must  be  called  in  to  save  a  situation  other- 
wise hopeless.  The  prayer  of  savages  never  rises  higher 
than  purely  material  needs  and  desires.  This  being  true, 
savage  prayer  never  reaches  up  to  the  level  where  prayer 
is  looked  upon  as  communion  with  God,  and  where  this  is 
considered  the  very  essence  of  the  exercise.  The  chief 
danger  in  prayer  is  that  it  may  revert  to  a  spell  or  incanta- 
tion, the  value  of  which  lies  in  the  mere  repetition  of  the 
words.  Whether  we  understand  their  meaning  or  not  it 
makes  no  difference,  there  is  potency  in  the  words  and  they 
will  bring  the  desired  end  by  being  uttered.  So  far  is  this 
carried  that  "spell-narratives"  about  the  gods  are  told,  the 
belief  being  that  even  talking  about  a  thing  makes  it  hap- 


74  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

pen.  Should  the  worshiper  know  the  name  of  his  god,  he 
has  in  his  possession  a  wonderful  lever  to  bring  what  he 
desires  to  pass.  The  name  is  looked  upon  as  a  part  of  the 
personality,  and  to  be  able  to  use  the  name  to  reenforce  a 
request  is  to  be  far  more  sure  of  receiving  the  boon  than 
would  otherwise  be  true.  Widely  extended  is  the  belief  in 
the  necessity  of  cleanness  in  approaching  the  spirits  to  be 
propitiated.  The  purifications  at  times  are  really  cleansing 
so  far  as  the  body  is  concerned.  The  hands,  the  feet,  the 
mouth,  and  frequently  the  whole  body  must  be  pure  to  come 
acceptably  into  the  presence  of  the  higher  powers.  But  as 
in  so  much  in  savage  life  reason  does  not  give  direction 
where  it  is  seriously  needed.  Uncleanness  is  connected 
closely  with  the  idea  of  tabu  and  is  incurred  by  con- 
tact with  ceremonially  dangerous  and  sacred  things,  like 
corpses,  newly  born  infants,  blood,  and  a  hundred  other 
things.  To  us  the  "purification"  seems  in  many  cases  as 
defiling  as  the  uncleanness  itself.  The  chemical  purity  of 
the  cleansing  agent  has  nothing  to  do  with  it.  The  most 
disgusting  things  are  considered  highly  purifying  and  are 
believed  in  implicitly,  even  in  religions  advanced  far  beyond 
that  of  the  people  we  are  studying.  Only  at  a  comparatively 
late  stage  did  the  idea  of  moral  defilement  arise  and  seem 
more  terrible  than  ceremonial  uncleanness.  Then  the  out- 
ward act  of  purification  became  a  symbol  of  the  inner  cleans- 
ing from  the  defilement  of  sin. 

Early  in  the  history  of  religion  a  class  of  men  arose 
known  as  priests,  medicine-men,  witch-doctors,  shamans, 
exorcists,  and  mediums.  They  are  the  members  of  the 
community  through  whom  communication  is  had  with  the 
supernatural.  The  essential  characteristic  of  the  priest  is 
that  he  mediate  between  men  and  the  powers  on  whom  they 
are  dependent.  In  ancestor  worship  alone,  where  the  father 
and  the  clan  heads  are  the  leaders  in  the  worship,  is  the 
priest  not  found  in  early  religion.  Not  anyone  could  be  a 
priest.  He  must  demonstrate  his  ability  to  hold  intercourse 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  75 

with  the  gods.  This  he  does  by  conduct  which  is  quite 
explicable  to  us  as  intoxication  or  ecstasy  or  epileptic  seiz- 
ures, but  which  to  the  savage  clearly  indicates  that  his  per- 
sonality is  in  the  possession  of  some  spirit  other  than  his 
own.  The  ejaculations  and  groans  and  incoherent  utter- 
ances, which  to  us  are  of  no  significance,  to  the  savage  are 
full  of  meaning,  only  needing  the  interpretation  of  the  priest 
himself  to  be  seen  in  their  true  light  as  a  divine  message. 
The  ofHce  frequently  becomes  hereditary  in  certain  families 
and  when  that  point  is  reached  the  priesthood  is  a  perma- 
nent institution  and  tends  to  secure  an  ever  stronger  hold 
upon  the  people.  These  experts  in  ritual  become  more  indis- 
pensable as  the  ritual  is  elaborated  and  access  to  the  gods 
is  thought  to  be  possible  only  through  these  channels  of 
communication. 

MAGIC  AND  RELIGION 

Magic  is  one  thing  to  us  and  another  to  the  savage.  We 
look  back  upon  it  after  it  has  shown  itself  to  be  what  it 
really  is,  after  the  distinction  between  magic  and  religion 
may  be  clearly  seen.  Religion  for  us  expresses  itself  in 
worship  of  higher  powers.  The  attitude  is  one  of  depend- 
ence, coming  into  the  presence  of  God  in  humility  to  thank 
him  for  his  goodness  and  to  make  request  for  certain  good 
things  after  which  we  crave.  Magic,  on  the  other  hand, 
means  to  us  a  very  different  attitude.  Instead  of  seeking 
our  desires  by  humble  entreaty  the  attitude  in  magic  is  that 
of  self-sufficiency,  as  though  there  were  another  method  of 
securing  our  ends  without  recourse  to  petition.  We  possess 
the  good  luck  talisman,  we  know  what  will  charm  away  the 
sickness,  we  can  by  doing  this  or  that,  by  "knowing  the 
trick,"  bring  good  fortune  and  accomplish  our  wish.  A 
hundred  examples  could  soon  be  collected  from  the  prac- 
tice of  men  and  women  in  our  own  communities  by  which 
they  believe  certain  things  can  be  brought  about  or  pre- 
vented by  magic.  The  attitude  is  entirely  different  from 


76  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

that  of  true  religion.  In  one  case  we  trust  God ;  in  the  other 
we  trust  some  contrivance  or  spell  or  charm.  In  one  case 
we  secure  our  aims  by  making  a  request;  in  the  other  we 
secure  them  by  coercion.  In  one  case  we  seek ;  in  the  other 
we  demand.  Not  that  the  two  attitudes  are  always  kept 
apart.  Even  among  Christians  there  is  the  constant  danger 
that  prayer,  to  use  one  illustration,  may  be  looked  upon 
as  meritorious  in  itself  and  as  efficacious  in  its  very  per- 
formance, as  though  we  might  secure  the  desired  object 
because  we  went  through  the  act  of  praying. 

But  to  the  savage  in  the  darkness  of  his  mind  such  a  dis- 
tinction as  we  have  just  made  is  utterly  out  of  the  question. 
He  is  in  trouble  and  confusion  before  the  dangers  and  un- 
certainties of  life.  At  his  wits'  end,  he  is  willing  to  do  any- 
thing to  get  relief  and  secure  what  he  so  much  desires. 
Animism  is  the  background  of  all  his  thinking  about  the 
universe.  Some  kind  of  mctna,  or  spiritual  influence,  is 
everywhere,  and  whatever  he  does  or  gets  must  be  done 
through  spiritual  agency.  In  the  use  of  these  spiritual 
agencies  he  is  led  into  one  or  the  other  or  both  of  two 
methods.  He  is  in  fear  of  the  spirits  who  can  do  him  in- 
jury; he  must  placate  them  by  offerings  and  make  request 
of  them  by  prayer;  and  we  call  this  religion.  But  this  is 
not  all  he  can  do.  He  has  discovered  that  by  doing  certain 
things  results  follow  which  are  what  he  wants.  He  can  hit 
two  stones  together  and  produce  a  spark.  He  believes  that 
spiritual  influences  can  be  evoked  by  what  he  may  do,  and 
around  this  belief  and  the  coincidences  which  he  has  noted 
he  has  built  up  what  might  almost  be  called  a  science  of 
cause  and  effect.  Only  the  absence  of  any  notion  of  nat- 
ural law  prevents  us  from  giving  these  words  their  full 
meaning  as  we  use  them  now.  All  that  is  effected  is  to  him 
the  result  of  spiritual  forces.  This  being  the  case,  we  can- 
not expect  him  to  see  the  difference  between  what  he  does 
when  he  sacrifices  and  prays  and  what  he  does  when  he  shouts 
some  "Open  Sesame"  and  expects  the  rock  to  roll  away 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  77 

for  him.  He  does  not  think  much  about  it  at  all ;  he  finds 
that  it  works;  he  knows  that  the  all-pervasive  mana  is 
accountable  for  it,  and  that  is  enough  for  him. 

This  discovery  that  by  doing  one  thing  another  thing 
happens  leads  him  into  an  elaborate  system  of  acts  which 
are  based  on  several  simple  and  to  him  most  obvious  con- 
clusions. He  believes  implicitly  that  things  which  were  once 
connected  and  had  some  relationship  with  each  other  con- 
tinue to  have  the  same  relationship  even  though  they  may  be 
separated  by  a  long  distance.  A  coat  which  was  once  owned 
by  some  man  still  has  some  connection  with  him  even 
though  he  has  discarded  it  or  given  it  away  to  another. 
If,  then,  you  desire  to  do  something  to  the  original  owner 
you  may  find  the  coat  a  convenient  medium.  By  tearing  or 
burning  it  a  most  uncomfortable  experience  may  be  caused 
the  man  to  whom  it  belonged.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the 
hair  and  nails  which  are  so  much  closer  to  him  than  his  coat. 
Great  care  is  exercised  in  many  places  among  savages  to 
bury  all  these  cuttings  and  parings  so  that  an  enemy  may 
not  do  injury  by  taking  advantage  of  the  possession  of  a 
part  of  you  which  still  is  considered  as  intimately  con- 
nected with  your  body  and  its  welfare.  This  has  been 
called  contagious  magic,  and  finds  a  thousand  applications 
in  the  world  of  the  animist. 

Then,  again,  the  savage  seems  unable  to  get  away  from 
the  feeling  that  like  produces  like.  If  this  be  true,  a  result 
can  be  attained  by  imitating  it.  A  rain-maker  in  one  of  the 
islands  in  Torres  Straits  painted  the  front  of  his  body  white 
and  the  back  black.  The  explanation  was  that  "all  along 
same  as  clouds — black  behind,  white  he  go  first.""  This 
has  been  called  mimetic  or  homoeopathic  magic.  Then, 
too,  names  and  certain  words  have  magical  power,  and  the 
same  is  true  of  talismans  and  amulets,  which  can  bring  to 
pass  what  may  be  desired  or  ward  off  impending  danger. 

Professor  Frazer  claims  that  magic  and  religion  are  like 

Quoted  by  A.  C  Haddon,  Magic  and  Fetishism,  p.  17. 


78  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

oil  and  water  and  will  not  mix.  He  holds  that  man  started 
with  magic  and,  because  this  method  did  not  bring  him  the 
fulfillment  of  his  desires,  he  was  compelled  to  leave  it  and 
try  religion.  One  very  heavy  count  against  this  theory  is  that 
we  find  the  two  methods  intermingling  in  the  life  of  sav- 
ages in  all  places  and  at  all  times.  Both  seem  to  have  ex- 
isted from  the  beginning  and  to  have  developed  side  by 
side.  The  only  distinction  made  by  the  savage  himself  is 
that  between  his  use  of  the  spiritual  or  demonic  influences 
for  his  own  private  advantage,  which  may  involve  injury 
or  loss  to  his  neighbor,  and  that  use  of  these  influences 
which  is  for  the  public  good.  It  is  a  very  real  distinction 
to  him,  and  he  condemns  and  punishes  the  dealer  in  the 
nefarious  traffic  with  little  mercy.  On  the  basis  of  this 
distinction,  which  is  the  only  one  the  savage  is  capable  of 
making,  there  are  those  who  would  say  that  fundamentally 
religion  and  magic  are  the  same,  the  only  difference  being 
that  religion  is  social  and  magic  unsocial  or  anti-social. 
It  is  not  a  matter  of  method  or  attitude  toward  the  spiritual 
world,  but  only  of  purpose.  Undoubtedly  this  difference 
is  real  and  must  be  taken  into  consideration  when  dealing 
with  magic  and  religion  among  savages,  but,  when  the  same 
act  may  be  social  under  certain  conditions  and  anti-social 
under  others,17  it  is  quite  clear  that  some  other  clue  is  nec- 
essary to  an  understanding  of  the  essential  difference  be- 
tween them.  '  This  clue  we  take  from  the  distinction  we 
make  when  from  our  superior  vantage-point  we  are  able  to 
see  what  the  savage  cannot  see,  that  there  is  a  difference 
in  attitude  between  magic  and  religion  which  separates  the 
two  fundamentally. 

When,  in  the  form  of  fetishism  already  mentioned,  the 
savage  gives  himself  to  coaxing  and  compelling  his  fetish 
to  do  his  bidding,  the  debasing  character  of  his  practice  is 
evident.  Only  because  he  may  be  able  to  look  on  some  other 
of  his  spirits,  not  as  "gods  at  his  disposal,"  but  as  powers 

17  See  discussion  by  Hartland  in  Ritual  and  Belief. 


ANIMISTIC  RELIGION  79 

to  be  feared  and  supplicated,  is  there  any  possibility  of 
advance  into  higher  forms  of  religious  faith.  Unknown 
to  him  the  struggle  between  magic  and  religion  has  begun, 
and  only  by  the  gradual  ascendency  of  the  true  spirit  of 
religion  has  man  attained  the  higher  reaches  of  religious 
experience.  And  to-day  we  find  ourselves  in  the  same  con- 
flict, the  difference  being  that,  knowing  its  danger,  we  may 
set  ourselves  consciously  and  deliberately  to  trample  magic 
underfoot  and  raise  religion  to  its  exclusive  place  in  our 
lives  as  we  come  into  the  presence  of  God. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

D.  G.  Brinton,  The  Religions  of  Primitive  Peoples   (New  York, 

1897)- 

R.  R.  Marett,  The  Threshold  of  Religion  (New  York,  1914). 
Edwin  Sidney  Hartland,  Ritual  and  Belief  (New  York,  1914).    The 

most  thorough  treatment  of  Religion  and  Magic. 
Edward  Clodd,  Animism  (London,  1905). 
Alfred  C.  Haddon,  Magic  and  Fetishism  (London,  1910). 
Crawford  Howell  Toy,  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Religions 

(Boston,    1913).     An    encyclopaedic    work,    to    be    used    for 

reference. 


CHAPTER  III 

EGYPT    AND    MESOPOTAMIA 
THE  NILE  VALLEY  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS 

ALL  the  national  religions  have  their  roots  in  the  animis- 
tic cults  we  have  studied  in  the  previous  chapter.  While 
many  tribes  scattered  over  the  world  have  remained  in 
the  tribal  form  of  organization  and  the  corresponding  ani- 
mistic forms  of  religious  life,  other  peoples  have  left  these 
crude  beginnings  behind  and  have  become  nations  and 
started  out  on  the  long  journey  toward  an  advanced  culture 
and  civilization.  The  earliest  centers  of  such  development 
of  which  we  have  any  knowledge  are  Egypt,  Mesopotamia, 
and  China.  'In  each  case  the  development  started  on  the 
banks  of  a  river — the  Nile,  the  Euphrates,  and  the  Yellow 
River — and  in  each  case  the  earliest  beginnings  are  hidden 
from  our  view,  so  far  back  do  they  lie  before  history  and 
chronology  had  begun  to  be  put  down  in  permanent  records. 
Of  these  three  ancient  peoples  only  China  has  been  able  to 
maintain  itself  distinct  and  separate  from  other  nations 
through  the  millenniums.  The  early  civilization  and  reli- 
gion of  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates  have  long  since  disap- 
peared, and  only  the  spade  of  the  archaeologist  is  able  to 
recover  precious  bits  of  information  which  would  otherwise 
be  entirely  unknown.  The  ancient  religion  of  China  con- 
tinues to  exist,  changed  to  be  sure,  but  of  immense  influence 
in  the  China  of  to-day;  but  the  faiths,  long  since  dead,  of 
Egypt  and  Mesopotamia — why  should  we  spend  time  in 
attempting  to  understand  them  in  this  fast-moving  modern 
world?  One  might  make  out  a  case  for  the  study  of  these 
religions,  as  well  as  those  of  Greece  and  Rome,  on  the 
ground  of  sheer  interest  in  what  men  have  believed  and 

80 


EGYPT   AND    MESOPOTAMIA  81 

practiced  in  an  age  different  from  our  own.  But  while 
these  faiths  have  forever  passed  away  as  formal  religions 
the  factors  which  made  them  live  and  which  gave  satisfac- 
tion to  the  people  who  worshiped  the  old  divinities  cannot  be 
quenched.  In  so  far  as  they  possessed  the  principle  of  life 
they  did  not  die.  Other  manifestations  of  the  same  life- 
principle  begin  to  appear  as  religions  change,  but  they 
are  the  same  old  elements  seeking  higher  forms.  As  reli- 
gions they  may  die,  but  all  the  true  religion  they  contained 
keeps  on  living.  We  are  more  interested  in  religion  than 
in  religions,  so  these  ancient  faiths  may  still  teach  us  the 
most  important  lessons  concerning  what  religion  is  or  ought 
to  be  among  men. 

"Egypt  is  a  gift  of  the  Nile,"  quoted  by  Herodotus  from 
an  earlier  Greek  writer,  is  the  truest  thing  that  could  be  said 
of  this  narrow  ribbon  of  a  country,  which  is  little  more 
than  the  banks  of  this  wonderful  river.  There  is  first  the 
river  itself,  which  flows  from  the  strange,  unknown  lands  of 
the  far  south  and,  after  twisting  itself  northward  through  a 
thousand  miles  and  more,  spreads  out  into  the  famous  delta 
and  empties  into  the  Mediterranean  through  a  number  of 
mouths.  The  land  is  low  for  some  distance  on  either  side 
of  the  stream,  and  this  is  the  real  Egypt.  Extending  beyond 
this  fertile  strip  is  higher  ground,  which  in  turn  reaches  out 
to  the  high  walls  of  the  valley,  beyond  which  stretches 
away  on  both  sides  the  blazing,  howling  desert. 

With  almost  no  rain  the  country  must  depend  on  the  Nile 
for  its  productivity.  Every  year  the  river  rises  above  its 
banks  and  overflows  the  low-lying  strip  on  each  side.  This 
is  the  secret  of  the  fertility  of  Egypt.  Not  only  is  the 
ground  thoroughly  soaked  but  a  thin  layer  of  alluvium  is 
brought  down  and  deposited  over  the  fields,  thus  replenish- 
ing the  constantly  worked  soil.  But  there  are  many  sec- 
tions which  are  not  reached  by  the  inundation,  and  they 
must  be  irrigated  by  artificial  means.  This  means  canals 
and  embankments  and  sluice  gates  and  the  whole  parapher- 


82  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

nalia  of  irrigation.  The  importance  of  these  facts  for  our 
immediate  consideration  is  that  this  economic  need  made 
necessary  common  labor  organized  to  make  the  best  use  of 
the  water  supply,  and  with  this  development  a  similar 
growth  of  political  organization.  This  necessity  for  orga- 
nized toil  marks  the  beginning  of  culture  and  civilization. 
He  was  a  savage  like  those  who  surrounded  him  when  he 
began,  but  in  a  short  time  the  Egyptian  begins  to  take  a 
place  in  advance,  and  after  a  time  he  is  living  in  a  different 
world;  he  has  developed  a  national  life  and  is  no  longer 
a  savage  with  savage  tastes  and  outlook. 

It  must  also  be  noted  that  the  development  took  place 
during  long  centuries  separated  from  contact  with  other 
peoples  and  cultures.  This,  of  course,  is  a  relative  state- 
ment, for  there  was  contact  with  the  Semites  to 
the  east  at  several  periods  during  her  long  history,  but 
compared  with  other  peoples  Egypt  was  isolated  and  alone 
during  most  of  the  long  period  of  her  independent  life. 
This  enables  us  to  study  the  religion  of  this  country  as  the 
unique  product  of  her  genius,  untouched  by  influences  which 
might  have  turned  it  into  very  different  channels. 

The  people  of  ancient  Egypt  were  in  all  probability  a 
mixture  of  African  tribes,  called  by  many  Hamitic,  and 
Semites,  who  at  a  very  early  age,  long  before  the  opening 
of  its  recorded  history,  came  over  from  Arabia,  fused  with 
the  natives,  and  formed  the  Egyptian  type  as  we  know  it 
even  in  our  own  time.  The  Egyptian  countryman,  the  fella- 
hm,  who  greets  you  as  you  set  foot  in  Egypt  to-day,  is  the 
same  man  who  gazes  out  at  you  from  the  oldest  monuments 
his  land  contains.  The  Semites  came  in  as  conquerors, 
who  in  turn  were  compelled  to  adopt  the  higher  civilization 
of  the  natives,  who  had  already  made  some  advance  in  sub- 
duing the  land  and  harnessing  the  Nile  to  the  uses  of  agri- 
culture. All  we  can  be  relatively  sure  of  is  that  this  people, 
now  amalgamated  into  one,  far  back  between  B.  C.  5000 
and  4000  had  settled  down  on  both  banks  of  the  river, 


EGYPT   AND    MESOPOTAMIA  83 

organized  in  little  principalities,  which  later  were  given  the 
Greek  name  of  "nomes."  There  were  more  than  forty  of 
these  little  states,  about  equally  divided  between  the  Delta 
region,  or  Lower  Egypt,  and  the  long,  narrow  valley  reach- 
ing into  the  south,  called  Upper  Egypt.  Each  of  these  had 
its  chief  town  or  city  in  which  dwelt  the  ruler  and  in  which 
also  the  chief  god  of  the  nome  had  his  seat.  Through  all 
the  changes  and  vicissitudes  of  Egyptian  history  these  nomes 
persisted  and  exerted  an  influence  on  the  civilization  and 
religion  of  the  land. 

The  Egyptian  has  always  been  intensely  religious.  This 
is  one  of  the  surest  indications  we  meet  in  a  study  of  the 
earliest  monuments  erected  by  this  gifted  people.  It  was 
of  a  unique  type,  as  we  shall  see,  but  it  was  genuine  and 
deep.  He  was  conservative  beyond  most  people  who  have 
ever  lived.  Somehow  he  never  felt  he  could  lay  aside  any- 
thing he  had  ever  picked  up  or  discovered.  He  kept  trail- 
ing along  after  him  all  the  lumber  which  should  have  been 
discarded,  as  though  he  might  suffer  if  he  let  go  a  single 
thing  he  had  ever  practiced  or  believed.  Thus  at  the  end  we 
may  study  not  only  what  the  Egyptian  thought  then  but  all 
he  had  ever  believed  in  the  millenniums  of  his  history — in 
fact,  it  all  continue^  to  be  his  belief  still.  Professor  George 
Foot  Moore  sums  it  all  up  in  a  pregnant  sentence:  "The 
Egyptians  of  later  ages  could  learn  but  not  forget — the 
most  fatal  of  all  disqualifications  for  progress/'1 

This  people  were  singularly  lacking  in  philosophic  power. 
They  seemed  incapable  of  abstract  thinking — it  must  all  be 
in  the  realm  of  the  concrete,  of  visible  symbols.  The  priests 
of  Heliopolis  and  Thebes  did  work  out  a  theology,  but  it 
was  not  in  conformity  with  any  well-knit  philosophy.  The 
Egyptian  seemed  always  to  be  able  to  hold  the  most  contra- 
dictory views  at  the  same  time  with  no  sense  of  incongruity. 
What  would  have  been  abhorrent  to  the  Greek  seemed  per- 
fectly natural  to  the  Egyptian.  He  wanted  to  see  things 

1  History  of  Religions,  vol.  i,  p.  148.    (Scribners,  New  York,  1920.) 


84  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

clearly ;  he  was  not  willing  to  leave  much  to  the  imagination. 
His  art  consisted  of  clear  line-drawings  and  had  not  much 
depth  or  mystic  hazy  background.  His  writing  was  in  the 
language  of  symbols  and  with  difficulty  could  be  made  to 
express  the  abstract  conceptions  which  even  he  must  of 
necessity  employ.  He  was  exceedingly  practical  and  bent 
everything  to  his  insatiable  desire  to  bring  whatever  he  dealt 
with  within  the  compass  of  his  alert  but  somewhat  circum- 
scribed mental  outlook.  His  religion  was,  as  a  consequence, 
practical  and  lacking  in  philosophical  and  mystical  depth. 

According  to  Manetho,  "an  Egyptian  priest  who  wrote  an 
historical  work  in  Greek/"  the  first  king  of  united  Egypt 
was  Menes,  who  reigned  some  time  before  B.  -C.  3000.  But 
even  before  the  time  of  this  first  king  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that  Egypt  was  divided  into  two  kingdoms,  those 
of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,  and  that  eventually  Lower,  or 
northern  Egypt,  was  conquered  by  the  south.  Then  came 
Menes  from  the  north  and  united  all  Egypt  under  one  sway. 
The  dynasty  thus  introduced  was  the  first  of  thirty-one 
dynasties,  extending  from  the  time  of  Menes  to  the  loss  of 
independence  when  Egypt  was  conquered  by  Alexander  the 
Great  in  B.  C.  332.  During  this  long  period  Egypt  passed 
through  all  the  experiences  from  the  most  exalted  culture 
and  prosperity,  when  foreign  conquest  added  distant  lands 
to  her  sway,  to  the  humiliation  of  internal  decay  and  out- 
ward defeat,  when  her  borders  were  overrun  by  alien  armies 
and  her  government  was  in  the  hands  of  princes  appointed 
from  far-away  Mesopotamia.  We  cannot  enter  further 
into  the  fascinating  details  of  this  history,  as  important  as 
it  would  be  to  understand  the  meaning  of  much  in  the  reli- 
gion which  must  otherwise  remain  obscure.  All  we  may 
do  is  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  political  history 
and  the  history  of  the  religion  experienced  their  periods  of 
development  and  decay  simultaneously,  one  reacting  on  the 

a  Steindorff,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  p.  5.  (Putnam, 
New  York,  1905.) 


EGYPT   AND    MESOPOTAMIA  85 

other,  religion  and  state  being  but  different  phases  of  a  com- 
mon culture  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  story  of 
this  people. 

THE  EGYPTIAN  PANTHEON 

The  nomes  or  little  principalities  of  Egypt,  each  with  its 
central  town  and  its  prince,  had  each  a  chief  god  of  its  own. 
These  gods  may  all  in  the  beginning  have  been  without 
names.  The  monuments  refer  to  several  local  divinities 
merely  by  the  names  of  the  nomes  to  which  they  belonged, 
"he  of  Edfu"  and  "the  lady  of  Elkab"  being  designations 
of  the  supreme  divine  beings  of  those  cities.  But  names 
must  very  soon  have  been  attached.  They  were  originally 
different,  but  very  early  the  same  name  is  to  be  found  in 
several  places.  This  arose,  it  may  be,  by  one  name  being 
carried  by  war  to  another  nome,  for,  while  the  Egyptians 
were  more  peace-loving  than  their  contemporaries  in  Meso- 
potamia, these  little  principalities  were  frequently  in  con- 
flict with  each  other.  Or,  perhaps,  the  god  of  one  nome 
was  seen  even  beyond  his  own  borders  to  be  specially  pow- 
erful and  willing  to  bring  good  to  his  people,  and  so  his 
name  was  taken  as  that  which  might  bring  good  to  another 
district  if  it  should  be  attached  to  the  previously  unnamed 
god  there.  Another  early  tendency  is  also  to  be  noted; 
the  gods  of  some  of  the  nomes  who  originally  had  doubt- 
less been  merely  the  protecting  divinity  of  his  own  people, 
began  to  take  on  a  deeper  and  wider  significance.  Amon, 
the  god  of  Thebes,  came  to  be  regarded  in  a  more  general 
way  as  the  god  of  fertility  and  generation.  This  would  lead 
also  to  an  expansion  of  the  sphere  of  influence  of  this  god, 
and  so  it  was  with  others. 

The  various  heavenly  bodies,  the  River  Nile,  their  kings, 
trees,  and  even  piles  of  stones  were  looked  upon  as  divine 
and  received  worship.  But  the  gods  of  the  Egyptians  were 
to  a  larger  extent  animals  than  anything  else.  This  is  one 
of  the  peculiarities  of  the  religion,  and  struck  the  people 


86  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

• 

of  Greece  and  Rome  as  being  as  strange  as  it  does  us.  The 
pagan  Celsus  is  quoted  by  Origen  as  saying,  "If  a  stranger 
reaches  Egypt,  he  is  struck  by  the  splendid  temples  and 
sacred  groves  that  he  sees,  great  and  magnificent  courts, 
marvelous  temples  with  pleasant  walks  about  them,  imposing 
and  occult  ceremonies;  but  when  he  had  entered  into  the 
innermost  sanctuary  he  finds  the  god  worshiped  in  these 
buildings  to  be  a  cat,  or  an  ape,  or  a  crocodile,  or  a  he  goat, 
or  a  dog."8  When  the  Romans  were  masters  of  the  country 
one  of  the  legionaries  "who  had  accidentally  killed  a  cat  was 
torn  to  pieces  by  the  mob.  .  .  .  For  the  majority  of  the  people 
the  cat  was  an  incarnate  god."4  Thout,  the  god  of  Her- 
mopolis,  was  either  a  baboon  or  an  ibis ;  the  god  of  the  dis- 
trict of  the  first  cataract,  whose  name  was  Khnum,  was  a 
he-goat,  and  Apis,  the  god  of  Memphis,  was  a  bull.  There 
was  no  bird  or  animal  or  creeping  thing  or  beetle  or  fish  or 
frog  which  did  not  take  its  place  in  the  pantheon  of  the 
Egyptians.  Animal  worship  is  to  be  found  in  many  other 
places,  but  nowhere  did  it  assume  such  proportions  and 
dominate  the  thinking  of  the  people  as  in  Egypt. 

The  problem  of  the  origin  of  this  animal  worship  is  as 
yet  unsolved.  The  temptation  is  strong  to  claim  that  it  is 
based  on  an  early  totemistic  organization,  the  animals  later 
worshiped  being  the  totems  of  various  clans  in  the  far-off 
prehistoric  age.  The  chief  difficulty  with  this  theory  is 
that  not  one  shred  of  evidence  is  forthcoming  that  the 
Egyptians  believed  that  animals  were  the  ancestors  of  men 
or  even  that  any  intimate  relationship  existed  between  them. 
Such  a  belief  may  have  been  held  at  one  time,  but  it  had 
been  so  completely  lost  that  no  vestige  of  it  remained  even 
in  the  most  ancient  times  of  which  we  have  any  informa- 
tion. It  is  doubtless  better  for  us  to  disclaim  any  certain 
knowledge.  What  we  do  know  is  that  there  was  something 

3  See  Wiedemann,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  p.  181. 
*  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  101.     (Clark,  Edin- 
burgh, 1913.) 


EGYPT   AND    MESOPOTAMIA  87 

about  animals  and  their  actions  which  made  a  strong  appeal 
to  the  superstitious  fears  of  the  people  and  led  them  to  treat 
them  as  divine. 

Very  early  the  gods,  many  of  them,  began  to  be  human- 
ized. The  worship  of  an  animal  as  an  animal  ceased  to 
satisfy  as  culture  increased ;  a  god  must  be  more  like  a  man 
to  be  worthy  of  worship.  The  first  step  taken  was  to  rep- 
resent the  gods  with  human  bodies  but  with  animal  heads. 
Khnum  is  represented  as  a  man  with  a  ram's  head,  Hekt 
as  a  woman  with  the  head  of  a  frog,  Sekhet,  the  wife  of 
Ptah,  is  the  lioness-headed  woman,  over  whose  head  is  rep- 
resented the  solar  disk,  crowned  with  the  poisonous  uraeus 
serpent.  Finally  the  gods  became  complete  human  beings, 
head  and  all,  but  the  man  or  woman  god  was  given  some 
symbol  to  indicate  a  connection  with  the  animal  which  it 
originally  was.  Hathor,  for  example,  is  a  full-fledged 
woman  with  a  cow's  horns  on  her  head.  Amon  Re  is  a  man 
holding  in  one  hand  a  scepter  and  in  the  other  the  keylike 
symbol  of  life  and  having  his  head  crowned  in  several  ways 
in  different  places,  either  with  the  sun's  disk  and;  two  long 
feathers  or  with  a  pair  of  ram's  horns.  But  even  in  the 
later  day  the  conservatism  of  the  Egyptian  is  seen  in  his 
inability  to  drop  the  animal  conception.  It  is  after  Chris- 
tianity had  begun  to  do  its  work  in  Egypt  that  the  condition 
described  by  Celsus  obtained  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
He  simply  could  not  get  away  from  his  old  crude  conceptions 
despite  his  advance  in  culture  and  refinement. 

At  Heliopolis  in  the  days  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  (from 
about  B.  C.  2000  to  1790)  the  priestly  thinkers  constructed  a 
theology  in  which  their  god,  the  sun  god  Re,  was  placed  in 
a  position  of  supremacy  above  all  the  gods  of  the  land.  So 
powerful  was  the  influence  of  this  priesthood  and  so  highly 
favored  by  the  rulers  that  their  theology  spread  far  and 
wide  until  for  the  first  time  all  Egypt,  officially  at  least,  came 
to  recognize  Re  as  the  first  god  of  the  whole  country.  It 
was  a  movement  toward  monotheism,  but  it  did  not  reach 


88  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

it;  it  was  not  sufficiently  exclusive  to  bar  out  the  presence 
and  influence  of  other  gods  who  were  looked  upon  as  helpers 
of  the  one  supreme  god  Re.  One  of  the  results  of  the  exalta- 
tion of  Re  was  that  many  other  gods  were  assimilated  to 
him,  that  is,  they  were  mingled  or  identified  with  him  in 
name  and  in  attribute,  and  thus  a  new  conception  of  a  god 
came  into  existence.  The  other  priesthoods  did  not  want 
their  gods  to  be  lost,  so  they  joined  their  names  with  that  of 
Re  and  declared  that  Re  was  their  god,  too,  only  it  was  the 
Re  who  had  been  united  with  the  original  god  of  their 
temple.  So  we  find  such  hyphenates  as  Re-Horus,  Re-Amon, 
and  many  others.  Only  a  few  of  the  old  gods,  like  Osiris, 
Ptah,  and  Thoth,  were  able  to  preserve  their  distinct  iden- 
tity, so  strong  was  the  influence  exerted  by  the  priests  of 
Heliopolis  and  their  theology. 

Here  is  the  work  of  priests  seeking  to  register  in  theology 
what  practically  had  come  to  be  the  position  of  their  god  in 
the  unified  empire.  But  the  priests  in  various  cities  went 
further  than  this.  They  began  to  construct  triads  of  gods, 
grouping  them  as  father,  mother,  and  son.  At  Thebes  we 
find  Amon  the  father,  Mut  the  mother,  and  Montu  the  son ; 
at  Memphis  it  was  Ptah,  Sekhet,  and  Imhotep;  and  again 
at  Abydos  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Horus.  In  the  stories  told  of 
these  trios  the  son  inherits  his  father's  authority  and  be- 
comes his  mother's  husband.  The  mother  does  not  die,  not 
being  connected  with  the  sun  as  her  husband  and  son  are. 
Like  the  sun,  which  after  the  day's  work  sinks  to  rest  be- 
yond the  western  horizon,  all  the  divine  beings  connected 
with  him  have  the  same  kind  of  mortality  and  must  look 
forward  to  an  eclipse  or  death  at  the  end  of  their  journey. 

But  more  artificial  combinations  were  worked  out  by  the 
priests  in  various  temples.  They  were  not  satisfied  with 
triads  but  went  further  and  constructed  enneads,  or  groups 
of  nine  gods.  The  idea  of  a  group  of  three  was  still  present, 
but  now  it  was  a  multiple  of  three  and  not  the  original 
simple  triad.  At  Heliopolis  and  in  a  few  other  places  two 


EGYPT   AND    MESOPOTAMIA  89 

enneads  were  gathered  together,  a  greater  and  a  lesser. 
These  combinations  were  the  work  of  men  who  were  not 
content  to  see  their  pantheon  in  confusion  with  no  order  or 
classification  of  the  deities.  They  wanted  to  explain  the 
origin  and  relationship  of  the  gods,  and  did  so  by  placing 
their  great  god  at  the  apex  of  their  ennead  and  the  others  as 
derived  from  him  in  a  descending  series  of  ranks.  It  is 
a  clumsy  and  artificial  construction  on  the  part  of  priests, 
who  were  not  able  to  drop  any  gods  from  their  list,  and  who 
tried  thus  to  bring  some  kind  of  unity  out  of  the  disorder. 
Another  development  grew  out  of  the  subordination  of 
many  gods  to  the  sun  god  Re.  It  was  a  kind  of  solar  pan- 
theism. The  sun,  and  only  the  sun,  exists  and  makes  up  the 
universe.  All  else  is  appearance,  the  manifestation  of  the 
supreme  and  all-embracing  sun.  This,  too,  was  a  priestly 
formulation.  It  represents  rather  a  tendency  than  a  finished 
and  widely  accepted  belief.  The  people  went  on  in  their  own 
way  worshiping  their  local  gods,  animals  and  trees,  and 
other  spirits,  little  influenced  by  the  colleges  of  priests  in  the 
great  centers  of  official  religion. 

In  the  New  Kingdom  the  capital  was  Thebes,  and  Amon 
was  looked  upon  as  the  national  god  of  Egypt.  But  the  in- 
fluence of  Re  had  for  long  been  so  pronounced  that  it  was 
with  the  double  title  Amon-Re  that  his  supremacy  was 
acknowledged.  Only  one  or  two  gods,  like  Ptah  of  Mem- 
phis and  Re  of  Heliopolis,  could  retain  a  measure  of  their 
old  prestige.  Then  came  Amenophis  IV,  king  of  Egypt  from 
B.  C.  1375  to  1358.  Educated  with  the  priests  of  Heliop- 
olis, this  young  prince  was  deeply  religious.  He  came  to 
feel  that  the  sun-god  possessed  the  right  to  universal  wor- 
ship, and  he  sought  to  convert  his  conviction  into  practice. 
He  attempted  to  discredit  all  the  other  gods  and  put  the  sun- 
god  in  their  place.  It  was  a  movement  toward  monotheism. 
It  was  the  sun,  Aton,  the  solar  disk,  closely  related  to  Re, 
which  was  to  be  the  object  of  devotion.  Aton  "had  not, 
like  Re,  been  fused  with  terrestrial  gods  of  various  beastly 


90  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

shapes  nor  represented  in  human  form,  and  by  its  freedom 
from  such  associations  his  name  was  a  fit  symbol  for  god 
in  a  purer  solar  monotheism."5  Aton  was  made  the  one 
national  deity ;  all  were  required  to  serve  this  one  god  alone. 
The  statues  of  the  other  gods  were  to  be  destroyed  and  their 
names  forgotten.  Amon  of  Thebes  was  the  special  object 
of  the  rigor  of  his  reforming  zeal.  The  king  changed  his 
name  from  Amenophis  or  Amen-hotep  ("Amon  is  content") 
to  Ikhnaton  ("Spirit  of  Aton")  and  moved  his  capital  away 
from  Thebes.  But,  as  usual  in  Egypt,  the  king,  with  sublime 
inconsistency,  allowed  himself  to  be  raised  to  the  place  of  a 
god  and  received  divine  worship.  Throughout  his  reign  the 
reform  lasted,  but  immediately  upon  his  death  the  reaction 
came.  It  was  tremendous  and  far-reaching.  Thebes  and 
its  great  god  Amon  won  the  day  completely.  Amon  was 
raised  to  the  supreme  place  in  the  pantheon  and  was  praised 
almost  in  the  same  terms  used  of  Aton.  Yet  the  monothe- 
istic feature  of  the  reform  was  utterly  repudiated,  and  other 
gods  were  allowed  their  place  in  the  worship  of  the  temples. 
In  the  thousand  and  more  years  which  followed  this  at- 
tempted reform  on  the  part  of  Amenophis  IV  Egyptian  reli- 
gion failed  to  show  any  signs  of  originality  or  significant 
development.  The  temples  became  more  wealthy  and  power- 
ful, but  the  life  had  departed.  It  was  a  state  cult  and  the 
common  people  found  little  there  for  them.  The  old  local 
gods  were  about  all  they  had  to  give  comfort  to  the  heart 
and  confidence  in  facing  the  trials  of  life.  The  worship  of 
animals  seemed  to  eat  deeper  into  the  religious  life.  Not 
only  the  one  animal  in  the  temple  was  worshiped  but  the 
whole  species  was  reverenced  and  held  in  high  honor.  It 
would  seem  that  the  people  were  reverting  to  prehistoric 
conditions  and  losing  a  part  of  what  they  had  gained  during 
the  long  course  of  their  history.  The  influence  of  Greece 
was  strongly  felt  under  the  reign  of  the  successors  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  the  Ptolemy s,  who  ruled  from  B.  C 

6  G.  F.  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  vol.  i,  p.  182. 


EGYPT    AND    MESOPOTAMIA  91 

332  to  31.  A  Greek  god,  Serapis,  was  brought  in  during 
this  period.  His  worship  spread  rapidly,  and,  identified  with 
the  old  Egyptian  god  Osiris,  he  became  the  national  god. 
But  even  he  could  not  revive  a  dying  paganism.  Accompa- 
nied by  his  wife,  the  old  Egyptian  goddess  Isis,  this  new 
Graeco-Egyptian  deity  took  his  journey  to  make  new  con- 
quests out  across  the  Mediterranean,  and  we  shall  meet 
him  again  in  Rome  in  the  day  when  that  city  was  reaching 
out  after  a  more  satisfying  religion. 

THE  INDIVIDUAL  HERE  AND  HEREAFTER 

Two  unique  features  distinguish  Egyptian  religion  from 
all  others — the  extent  to  which  the  worship  of  animals  was 
carried  and  the  view  of  individual  immortality  which  was  so 
dominant  in  all  the  thinking  of  the  people.  The  belief  was 
well-nigh  universal.  Only  a  few  cynical  pessimists  could 
see  little  hope  of  a  sure  hereafter,  and  ordered  their  lives 
according  to  the  familiar  philosophy,  "Eat,  drink,  and  be 
merry,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  The  form  taken  by  the 
belief  was  determined  partly  by  conditions  in  the  land  where 
they  lived.  "The  dry  and  microbe-free  climate,"6  where 
nothing  decays  but  merely  dries  up,  seemed  to  suggest  the 
possibility  of  a  kind  of  physical  immortality  in  which  the 
body  might  be  rendered  everlasting  and  partake  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  more  immaterial  parts.  Egyptian  archi- 
tecture is  above  everything  else  massive,  built  to  stand  the 
ravages  of  time.  The  gigantic  pyramid  tombs  of  the  kings, 
the  ponderous  sarcophagi  found  in  all  the  cemeteries,  as  well 
as  the  temples  themselves,  suggest  permanence.  Built  out  of 
the  hard  rock  to  be  found  in  inexhaustible  quantities  so  near 
at  hand,  the  ancient  monuments  have  come  down  to  us  but 
slightly  damaged  through  four  of  five  thousand  years.  But 
above  all  else  the  practice  of  mummification  is  evidence  of 
the  keen  interest  of  the  Egyptian  in  a  continued  existence. 

'Article,  "Death  (Egyptian),"  in  Hastings'  Encyclopaedia  of  Reli- 
gion and  Ethics.    (Scribners,  New  York.) 


92  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

The  idea  was  that  the  body  must  be  preserved  as  necessary 
to  immortality.  Theories  of  the  life  beyond  came  to  be  held 
which  might  be  considered  inconsistent  with  the  necessity  of 
the  preservation  of  the  body,  but  inconsistencies  were  of 
little  consequence  to  an  Egyptian,  and  he  kept  right  on  mak- 
ing mummies  of  the  bodies  of  his  dead  in  sublime  indiffer- 
ence to  any  untoward  theories  which  might  stand  in  his  way. 
When  a  man  died,  professional  embalmers  would  remove 
the  entrails  and  place  them  in  jars,  which  were  buried.  This 
would  prevent  the  jackals  from  devouring  them  and  clear 
the  body  of  the  parts  which  would  prevent  successful 
preservation.  "The  body  itself  was  laid  in  salt  water  and 
treated  with  bitumen;  it  was  then  rolled  in  bandages  and 
cloths,  while  the  abdominal  cavity  was  also  plugged  up  with 
linen  rolls  and  cushions."'  Herodotus  tells  of  three  methods 
of  treating  the  body,  differing  according  to  cost.  The  most 
expensive  method  included  the  drawing  out  of  the  brain  by 
an  iron  hook  inserted  through  the  nose,  great  care  in  dispos- 
ing of  the  viscera,  and  an  elaborate  and  extended  treatment 
of  the  body  before  the  final  wrapping  was  undertaken.  The 
cheaper  processes  were  much  simpler.  In  all  cases  the 
mummy  was  laid  in  a  coffin  of  wood  or  stone.  The  chests 
were  frequently  decorated  "with  a  number  of  doors  intended 
to  afford  exit  and  entrance  to  the  dead  man.  At  the  head- 
end, where  the  face  lay,  it  was  not  uncommon  to  insert  a  pair 
of  eyes;  by  the  aid  of  these  the  deceased  was  expected  to 
look  forth  from  the  coffin  and  behold  the  rising  sun.  The 
inner  surfaces  were  at  a  later  time  inscribed  with  texts  relat- 
ing to  the  life  after  death — chapters  from  the  Pyramid- 
Texts  and  from  the  Book  of  the  Dead;  in  addition  there 
were  pictorial  representations  of  all  possible  things  which 
the  dead  man  could  need  in  the  hereafter."8  And  then  it 
was  laid  away  for  safe  keeping,  for  poor  people  very  simply, 
for  the  wealthy  in  elaborate  tombs,  and  for  kings  in  such 

7  Steindorff,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,"  p.  149. 

8  Steindorff,  op.  cit,  p.  150!. 


EGYPT   AND   MESOPOTAMIA  93 

buildings  as  the  pyramids,  which  are  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  world.  The  dead  needed  the  care  of  their  living  rela- 
tives, so  offerings  were  offered  at  the  tomb.  In  order  to 
secure  rest  and  service  in  the  next  world  those  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  servants  were  provided  with  Ushebtis,  "an- 
swerers," which  were  little  porcelain  doll-like  images,  sup- 
posed to  represent  servants,  which  were  buried  with  the 
body.  This  may  be  a  survival  coming  down  from  the  time 
when  slaves  were  actually  killed  to  accompany  their  lord 
to  the  next  world. 

The  Egyptians  had  worked  out  an  elaborate  psychology. 
To  us  it  seems  fantastic,  naive,  and  very  confusing,  as  it 
attempts  to  name  and  give  a  distinct  character  to  various 
phases  of  the  personal  life.  Besides  his  body  man  had  an 
immortal  soul  which  was  composite.  There  was  the  Ka, 
which  is  described  as  a  man's  double  or  guardian  spirit  with 
which  he  was  furnished  at  birth  and  which  was  liberated 
from  the  body  at  death.  "The  Ka,  which  had  been  the  com- 
panion of  the  body  in  life,  at  death  attained  to  independent 
existence.  It  was  to  the  Ka  that  funerary  prayers  and  offer- 
ings were  made;  to  the  mummy  alone  they  were  useless."8 
The  Ka  and  the  mummy  could  be  reunited,  it  was  believed, 
and  the  mummy  reanimated  and  a  new  life  lived,  but  in  all 
cases  food  and  drink  must  be  offered  at  the  tomb.  Besides 
the  Ka  there  was  the  Ba,  which  may  best  be  described  as  the 
soul  of  the  departed  man.  It  is  often  pictured  as  a  bird,  with 
human  head  and  hands,  which  at  death  would  fly  to  the  gods. 
But  this,  too,  must  be  fed  and  provided  with  the  necessities 
of  life,  as  though  the  next  life  were  not  essentially  different 
from  this. 

The  abode  of  the  dead  was  variously  pictured  by  the  Egyp- 
tians. They  were  not  careful  to  work  out  a  consistent  pic- 
ture, but,  true  to  themselves,  were  quite  willing  to  accumu- 
late all  the  ideas  which  arose  and  take  their  pick  and  make 
combinations  as  they  might  choose.  There  was  the  early 

9  Wiederaann,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  p.  241. 


94  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

belief  that  the  dead  continue  to  live  in  the  tomb  a  life  not 
very  different  from  the  life  they  had  lived  before.  They  must 
eat  and  drink,  and  this  is  furnished  by  the  relatives.  What 
was  not  provided  in  this  way  was  to  be  secured  by  magical 
incantations  and  prayers,  these  being  painted  on  the  coffin 
or  mummy  chest  as  an  aid  to  the  memory  of  the  dead.  He 
may  at  times  leave  the  tomb  and  wander  around,  but  in  doing 
so  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  his  guard  against  ghostly  enemies. 
He  may  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  his  living  relatives,  who 
dread  his  approach  and  influence.  He  is  not  as  happy  as 
they  and  is  looked  upon  as  restless  and  anxious,  able  by  the 
aid  of  magic  to  assume  different  shapes  and  thus  be  a  source 
of  terror.  Then,  again,  there  is  a  belief  that  men — at  first 
it  was  only  kings,  but  later  extended  to  all — might  live  a  life 
of  bliss  among  the  gods  in  heaven,  accompanying  them  on 
their  journeys  and  enjoying  their  fellowship.  To  accom- 
plish this  a  ladder  was  believed  to  exist  in  the  west,  and  up 
this  ladder  the  dead  might  climb  if  peradventure  they  knew 
the  necessary  magical  formulas.  But  even  this  abode  was 
not  entirely  unlike  the  world  in  which  they  had  previously 
lived. 

Still  another  conception  places  the  dead  in  the  lower 
world.  Beneath  the  earth  there  is  another  called  Twet, 
through  which  runs  a  river  like  the  Nile.  Here  in  long  pas- 
sages and  in  deep  caverns  the  dead  dwell.  By  night  they 
have  the  light  of  the  sun,  for  through  the  twelve  sections 
into  which  this  subterranean  river-course  is  divided  the  sun 
makes  his  progress,  ready  to  appear  at  sunrise  the  next 
morning  in  the  eastern  sky  of  the  real  Egypt  overhead.  The 
gates  separating  the  twelve  sections  are  guarded  by  ser- 
pents and  demons,  and  the  sun-god  in  his  magnificent  barge 
must  know  their  names  to  secure  passage.  It  was  believed 
at  a  later  time  that  others  might  share  with  the  king  this 
nightly  voyage  of  the  sun,  that  is,  if  they  were  acquainted 
with  the  appropriate  incantations  and  magical  formulae. 

We  come  lastly  to  the  most  important  of  these  conceptions, 


EGYPT   AND    MESOPOTAMIA  95 

that  connected  with  Osiris.  And  here  it  becomes  necessary 
to  refer  to  the  myth,  told  in  many  forms,  about  Osiris  and 
his  relation  with  the  dead.  Osiris  was  one  of  the  ancient 
divinities  of  Egypt.  He  was  murdered  by  Set,  who  dismem- 
bered his  body  and  scattered  it  over  the  Delta.  The  mourn- 
ing wife,  Isis,  wanders  over  the  land  seeking  the  body  of 
her  husband,  while  Horus,  their  son,  vows  vengeance.  In  the 
end  Osiris  is  restored  to  life  and  becomes  the  "King  of  the 
Western  Folk/'  presiding  over  the  realm  of  the  dead.  They 
did  not  know  exactly  where  this  realm  was,  but  it  became 
the  most  exalted  of  their  conceptions  of  the  hereafter.  This 
god  had  died  and  was  alive  again;  here  lay  the  significance 
of  the  myth  and  the  belief  connected  with  it.  Like  him  men, 
who  knew  that  death  was  sure  and  could  not  be  evaded, 
might  hope  to  rise  again  to  a  new  life.  The  belief  expanded 
and  deepened  until  the  idea  of  the  life  beyond  was  that  men 
might  become  like  Osiris;  even  more  than  this,  that  they 
might  become  Osiris  himself,  losing  in  a  real  sense  their  own 
personal  identity.  Dead  men  were  considered  as  identified 
with  him  until  they  were  "Osiris  so-and-so."  This  has  been 
given  as  a  reason  why  the  Egyptians  never  became  ancestor- 
worshipers.  The  dead  relative  ceased  to  be  bound  to  them 
now  that  he  had  become  Osiris.  No  motive  remained  to 
offer  worship  to  him  as  a  separate  being,  and  this  despite  the 
conditions  in  Egyptian  family  life  which  would  otherwise 
almost  surely  have  led  to  that  reverence  and  worship  which 
grew  up  among  so  many  peoples. 

As  Osiris  in  the  myth  had  been  declared  "just"  by  the 
judges  before  whom  he  was  tried,  so  every  man  before 
entering  his  realm  must  come  before  a  similar  court.  The 
judge  is  Osiris  himself,  and  at  his  side  are  forty-two  terrible 
creatures  before  whom  confession  must  be  made.  The  con- 
fession is  for  the  most  part  a  statement  of  the  sins  one 
has  not  committed,  though  some  positive  good  things  are 
mentioned.  "I  have  not  done  what  the  gods  abominate." 
"I  have  not  allowed  anyone  to  be  hungry,"  "I  have  done  no 


96  THE  RELIGIONS   OF  MANKIND 

murder."  "I  oppressed  no  man  in  possession  of  his  prop- 
erty." So  run  the  items  of  this  confession.  But  this  per- 
sonal confession  is  not  sufficient;  his  heart  must  be  "weighed 
on  a  great  balance  against  the  symbol  of  justice."  The  heart 
of  the  man  found  wanting  is  devoured  by  a  hippopotamus 
who  stands  close  by  and  ready.  This  is  about  all  we  know 
of  the  fate  of  the  wicked.  The  good  are  conducted  into  the 
presence  of  the  king  and  become  residents  of  the  realm. 
Thus,  particularly  in  the  later  day,  the  moral  sanction  be- 
comes an  important  feature  in  the  thought  of  the  hereafter, 
though  it  must  be  said  that  the  unfortunate  prevalence  of 
magic  in  all  that  was  connected  with  death  and  the  condition 
of  the  dead  was  so  powerful  that  the  conception  of  the 
future  was  only  partially  moralized.  And  all  the  while  the 
mass  of  the  people  were  continuing  their  local  worships,  but 
slightly  touched  by  the  higher  religion  of  the  priests  and 
thinkers.  When  Christianity  came  the  old  religion  died, 
unable  to  hold  its  own  against  a  faith  so  much  fuller  and 
richer  than  anything  it  had  to  hold  out  to  the  people, 

THE  GODS  OF  BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

Three  thousand  years  before  Christ  a  civilization  had  been 
developed  in  the  lower  Euphrates  Valley.  Like  that  of 
Egypt  it  was  a  river  civilization.  In  each  case  the  control  of 
the  water  supply  had  made  necessary  concerted  action  and 
political  organization.  Economic  necessity  was  again  respon- 
sible for  the  formation  of  a  number  of  small  city  states,  each 
with  its  prince  or  king  and  its  chief  god.  In  these  respects 
the  civilization  in  Babylonia  was  like  that  of  Egypt,  but 
there  was  a  wide  divergence  whose  cause  is  at  once  evident 
by  a  glance  at  the  map.  Egypt  was  isolated  and  developed 
her  culture  far  distant  from  foreign  influence.  Babylonia, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  open  on  all  sides  to  the  incursion  of 
ideas  as  well  as  of  armies.  They  might  come  from  the 
mountains  of  Elam  on  the  east,  the  desert  on  the  south  and 
west,  and  down  the  long  Mesopotamian  valley  which  reached. 


EGYPT   AND    MESOPOTAMIA  97 

off  toward  the  northwest.  In  fact,  her  history  was  given 
direction  many  times  by  forces  which  found  their  way  to 
Babylonia  from  each  of  these  sources. 

The  civilization  in  this  valley  traveled  northward  from 
the  region  near  the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  There  at  a 
very  early  date  a  people  were  to  be  found  called  Sumerians. 
We  do  not  know  who  they  were,  though  it  is  quite  sure  they 
were  different  from  the  Semites  with  whom  they  amalga- 
mated at  a  later  time.  It  is  quite  likely  that  they  came  from 
the  mountains  which  bounded  the  plain  on  the  east.  At  any 
rate  it  was  they  who  founded  cities  and  began  to  build  up  a 
civilization  near  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris. 
Ur,  Eridu,  Uruk,  Larsa,  and  Nippur  are  the  names  of  a 
number  of  these  cities.  The  city  with  the  surrounding  ter- 
ritory made  up  the  state.  To  the  north  were  the  Akkadians, 
Semites  related  to  the  desert  Arabs,  and  the  Canaanites  and 
Amorites  over  on  the  Mediterranean  coast.  Wars  between 
these  city  states  were  very  frequent  and  deeply  influenced 
the  religion  as  well  as  other  features  of  the  life.  It  is  to  be 
carefully  noted  that  the  various  political  transformations 
which  the  land  experienced  made  profound  changes  in  the 
relationships  of  the  gods  of  the  cities  involved.  After  many 
vicissitudes  the  whole  of  the  land  was  finally  united  under 
the  mighty  King  Hammurabi,  of  the  city  of  Babylon  (B.  C. 
1958-1916).  After  his  time  no  distinction  can  be  made 
between  the  Sumerian  and  the  Akkadian  elements  of  the 
population ;  they  are  now  one  people  with  a  single  language 
and  civilization.  It  was  Hammurabi  who  gave  his  people 
a  famous  code  of  laws,  which  clearly  shows  him  to  have 
been  a  wise  and  righteous  ruler.  For  a  thousand  years  after 
his  time  Babylon  dominated  the  situation  in  the  world  of  the 
two  rivers,  and  even  far  beyond. 

But  another  power  was  rising  in  the  north.  The  city  of 
Asshur  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  far  away  from  the  allu- 
vial lowlands  of  Babylonia,  had  begun  to  rival  the  power 
of  her  southern  neighbor.  Finally  Babylon  is  outclassed  and 


98  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

the  Assyrian  empire  is  the  dominant  force  in  western  Asia 
from  about  B.  C.  750  to  606.  Babylon  was  shown  no  mercy 
and  the  terror  of  the  Assyrian  name  was  carried  as  far  as 
Egypt.  The  city  of  Samaria  fell  and  the  northern  kingdom 
of  Israel  was  carried  away  captive  by  this  relentless  power. 
The  chief  glory  of  the  empire  was  the  reign  of  Assurbanipal, 
who  made  Nineveh  great  and  left  behind  him  a  magnificent 
library  of  baked  clay  tablets  in  the  cuneiform  script  which 
in  recent  years  has  so  enriched  our  knowledge  of  the  ancient 
Orient.  But  Nineveh  and  the  Assyrian  empire  were  in  turn 
crushed  in  the  year  B.  C.  606,  never  again  to  rise,  and  their 
place  was  taken  by  the  rising  power  of  the  new  Babylonia, 
or  Chaldea.  From  that  time  until  Babylon  itself  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  under  Cyrus,  in  B.  C. 
539,  the  Chaldean  empire  told  its  short  tale.  One  great 
ruler,  however,  made  the  era  noteworthy.  Nebuchadrezzar 
made  Babylon  the  greatest  city  the  world  had  ever  seen,  but 
his  work  was  of  little  avail  so  far  as  permanence  was  con- 
cerned. The  empire  was  weak  to  its  very  center  and  fell  a 
ready  prey  into  the  hands  of  the  hardy  mountaineers  from 
the  northeast. 

The  religion  of  the  Euphrates  Valley  had  long  since 
passed  out  of  the  animistic  stage  when  the  little  city  states 
appear  upon  the  scene.  Yet  there  is  plenty  of  evidence  that 
everything  is  built  upon  an  animistic  foundation.  The 
people  continued  to  believe  in  the  Z%,  or  spirits,  in  whom 
they  had  believed  in  the  days  before  any  advance  had  been 
made  in  civilization.  As  the  states  were  in  process  of  for- 
mation certain  of  the  spirits  of  their  former  belief  grew  in 
importance  and  became  distinct  gods  with  personality  and 
attributes.  This  process  was  hastened  by  the  political  re- 
lationships which  became  more  complex  as  time  passed. 
The  god  of  one  city  came  to  exercise  influence  as  far  as  his 
city  was  able  to  carry  its  conquests.  But  even  at  the  end 
of  the  process,  when  the  gods  had  become  far  more  than 
nature  powers,  evidences  could  be  found  which  pointed  back 


EGYPT   AND    MESOPOTAMIA  99 

to  their  more  humble  origin.  According  to  Professor  Jas- 
trow,  the  gods  were  personifications  of  the  sun  and  the 
moon,  the  power  manifesting  itself  in  vegetation,  and  that 
of  the  waters  and  the  storm.  Larsa  and  Sippar  had  Sha- 
mash,  the  sun-god,  Ur  and  Harran  worshiped  Sin,  the  moon- 
god,  Uruk  had  Ishtar,  the  mother-goddess,  while  Eridu  had 
Ea,  the  water-deity,  as  its  patron,  and  Enlil,  of  Nippur,  was 
the  "lord  of  the  storm."  Professor  Robert  W.  Rogers  has 
listed  over  sixty  gods  and  goddesses  gathered  together  on 
one  tablet,  though  many  of  these  are  duplications.  "Nearly 
every  place  in  early  times  would  have  a  sun-god  or  a  moon- 
god  or  both,  and  in  the  political  development  of  the  country 
the  moon-god  of  the  conquering  city  displaced  or  absorbed 
the  moon-god  of  the  conquered.  When  we  have  eliminated 
these  gods,  who  have  practically  disappeared,  there  remains 
a  comparatively  small  number  of  gods  who  outrank  all  the 
others."10 

In  an  early  day  the  priests  in  the  greater  temples  began 
to  form  triads.  The  earliest  of  these  was  that  of  Anu, 
Enlil,  and  Ea.  Anu  was  the  patron  divinity  of  Uruk  and 
was  associated  with  the  overarching  heavens,  Enlil  with 
the  earth  and  the  atmosphere  immediately  above  it,  and  Ea 
with  the  waters,  those  on  the  earth  and  those  below.  Thus 
this  triad  is  inclusive  of  the  universe  as  conceived  by  the 
thinkers  of  the  time.  A  second  series  of  three  consists  of 
Sin,  Shamash,  and  Ishtar,  gods  of  Babylonia,  who  did  not 
differ  essentially  from  the  Sumerian  gods  of  the  first  triad 
mentioned.  In  this  second  triad  the  place  of  Ishtar  was 
frequently  taken  by  Adad,  an  Amorite  god  brought  in  dur- 
ing the  course  of  their  relationship  with  outlying  peoples. 
Under  Hammurabi  Babylon  became  the  capital  of  the  em- 
pire and  Marduk,  the  patron  divinity  of  the  city,  the  god 
par  excellence  of  the  empire.  But  even  this  position  could 
only  be  maintained  by  a  process  which  transferred  to  him 

"The  Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  p.  79.  (Eaton  &  Mains, 
New  York,  1908.) 


ioo          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

the  power  and  attributes  of  Enlil,  of  Nippur,  and  Ea,  of 
Eridu.  Particularly  was  this  true  of  Enlil,  doubtless  because 
he  was  looked  upon  as  the  venerable  patron  of  the  oldest 
seat  of  civilization  and  hence  worthy  of  respect  and  honor, 
even  when  another  city  was  now  the  seat  of  far  wider 
authority  and  influence. 

Only  one  other  god  could  ever  vie  with  Marduk  in  power, 
and  that  was  Ashur.  He  was  the  god  of  the  Assyrian  em- 
pire and,  as  the  recognized  head  of  the  pantheon,  marched 
at  the  head  of  the  armies  as  they  traveled  far  from  the  cap- 
ital carrying  destruction  and  terror  all  over  western  Asia 
and  even  as  far  as  Egypt.  He  differed  from  all  the  other 
gods  mentioned  in  that  his  worship  was  imageless  and  he 
was  represented  as  the  disk  of  the  sun  from  which  rays  or 
wings  proceed  out  in  all  directions.  He  was  of  a  more 
spiritual  type  than  the  other  gods,  but  this  does  not  seem  to 
have  prevented  him  from  being  associated  with  all  the  cruelty 
and  bloodshed  which  accompanied  the  destructive  march  of 
the  armies  of  Assyria  as  they  ruthlessly  destroyed  one  city 
after  another. 

The  gods  were  given  consorts  or  wives,  but  all  we  may 
know  of  many  of  them  is  that  they  had  a  name.  For  the 
most  part  they  were  of  little  or  no  significance.  But  one 
among  them  stands  out  as  a  power  of  the  first  magnitude.  It 
is  Ishtar,  the  goddess  of  generation  and  fertility,  the  goddess 
of  love  and  sexual  relationships.  Starting  no  doubt  in  the 
perfectly  justifiable  veneration  of  fertility  in  field  and  ani- 
mal and  man,  and  being  looked  upon  as  presiding  over  the 
increase  upon  which  all  life  depends,  this  goddess  became 
the  patroness  of  practices  connected  with  her  worship  which 
could  only  be  debasing  and  demoralizing.  It  is  a  dark  blot 
on  a  religion  which  at  best  could  never  rise  out  of  a  not 
very  lofty  polytheism  and  a  worship  which  sadly  needed  the 
touch  of  what  was  pure  and  ennobling. 

An  extensive  mythology  has  come  down  to  us  from  Baby- 
lonia. The  conflict  of  Bel  or  Marduk  with  the  monster 


EGYPT   AND   MESOPOTAMIA  101 

Tiamat  tells  the  story  of  creation  in  such  manner  that  Mar- 
duk  is  honored  and  his  city,  Babylon,  is  placed  before  all 
others,  so  that  it  has  been  called  "a  great  political  treatise." 
But  it  was  religious  as  well  and  exercised  an  influence  upon 
the  biblical  account  of  the  creation  which  is  undeniable. 
In  the  Bible,  however,  the  gross  polytheism  has  been  laid 
aside  and  the  wonderful  prose-poem  is  made  to  give  honor 
to  the  one  God  Almighty,  maker  of  heaven  and  earth.  There 
is  also  the  epic  of  Gilgamesh,  the  great  hero  with  many  ex- 
ploits to  his  name,  to  whom  is  told  the  deluge  story  with 
features  so  nearly  akin  to  the  story  in  Genesis  that  it  is  im- 
possible not  to  see  a  close  connection,  but  here  also  the  Baby- 
lonian version  revels  in  gods  and  their  relations  with  men, 
thus  representing  a  level  far  below  that  occupied  by  the  par- 
allel narrative  in  Genesis.  All  this,  and  much  besides,  has 
come  down  to  us  from  the  library  of  Assurbanipal  the  As- 
syrian, causing  us  to  be  thankful  beyond  measure  that  in  so 
early  a  day  he  should  have  conceived  the  idea  and  actually 
carried  it  into  effect  of  preserving  in  permanent  form  the 
best  treasures  of  a  civilization  long  since  dead  and  otherwise 
largely  unknown. 

MAN'S  APPROACH  TO  THE  DIVINE  POWERS 

In  Egypt  the  worship  of  animals  and  the  views  held  con- 
cerning immortality  were  noted  as  peculiar.  Neither  of 
these  had  any  place  to  speak  of  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 
Here  the  approach  to  the  gods  by  divination  and  astrology 
stands  out  so  prominently  that  it  cannot  be  avoided  in  any 
account,  however  brief,  of  the  religion.  Divination  was 
practiced  to  learn  or  "divine"  the  will  of  the  gods  sufficiently 
in  advance  to  be  able  to  prepare  for  what  was  coming;  in 
no  sense  was  it  to  turn  the  gods  from  their  purpose.  Many 
methods  of  divination  were  known.  One  of  them  was  to 
drop  oil  into  a  basin  of  water  and  determine  from  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  oil  scattered  what  the  future  might  be. 
But  of  all  the  methods  the  favorite  was  that  by  an  examina- 


102  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

tion  of  a  sheep's  liver,  called  hepatoscopy.  The  theory  on 
which  it  was  based  was  that  the  gods  identified  themselves 
with  the  animal  which  was  about  to  be  sacrificed.  By 
observing  the  part  of  the  animal  which  was  considered  the 
seat  of  life  the  will  of  the  god  himself  could  be  ascertained. 
Now,  among  the  Babylonians  the  liver  was  believed  to  be 
the  seat  of  life,  probably  because  so  large  an  amount  of 
blood  was  to  be  found  in  that  organ.  The  function  of  the 
heart  was  not  clearly  recognized.  At  a  later  day,  as  among 
the  Romans,  when  the  heart  had  taken  the  place  of  the  liver 
as  the  seat  of  life,  the  heart  together  with  the  liver  was 
examined  in  the  practice  of  divination.  It  was  the  liver  of 
the  sheep,  which  has  a  very  diversified  surface.  This  of- 
fered scope  for  an  almost  infinite  number  of  combinations 
of  signs,  all  of  which  were  worked  out  into  an  elaborate 
system.  In  this  way  a  pseudo-science,  much  like  our  mod- 
ern palmistry  and  phrenology,  was  constructed  in  great 
detail  and  with  much  precision. 

Another  form  of  divination  was  by  the  observation  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  or  astrology.  A  coordination  was  supposed 
to  exist  between  the  happenings  on  earth  and  the  movements 
of  the  stars  and  planets  and  the  sun  and  moon.  The  basis 
on  which  such  a  theory  could  rest  was  the  belief  that  the 
gods  and  the  heavenly  bodies  were  one  and  the  same,  so 
that  if  the  heavens  might  be  correctly  read  the  will  of  the 
gods  was  thereby  determined.  The  first  place  in  astral  lore 
was  taken  by  Sin,  the  moon-god,  the  "lord  of  wisdom/' 
that  is,  the  wisdom  to  be  ascertained  by  the  scrutiny  of  the 
sky.  Astrology  in  Babylonia  did  not  trouble  itself  with  the 
petty  affairs  of  the  individual,  but  only  with  important  mat- 
ters of  state,  and  here  we  must  note  that  the  concept  of  the 
state  stood  for  the  solidarity  of  people,  king  and  god.  So, 
while  the  common  people  had  some  impersonal  share  in  the 
transactions  of  the  state  with  the  great  gods,  they  had  no 
alternative  in  their  own  affairs  than  to  go  to  the  spirits  and 
demons  which  they  believed  surrounded  them  and  deal  with 


EGYPT    AND    MESOPOTAMIA  103 

them  directly  or  through  sorcerers  and  witches.  The  people 
as  well  as  the  priests  became  adepts  in  interpreting  dreams, 
omens,  portents,  monstrosities,  and  prodigies.  In  the  words 
of  Professor  Morris  Jastrow,  "The  significance  attached 
to  omens  was  the  most  conspicuous  outward  manifestation 
of  the  religious  spirit  of  the  people  taken  as  a  whole."11 

But  there  was  more  to  their  religion  than  that.  The  elab- 
orate ceremonials  in  the  temples,  while  shot  through  with 
the  vitiating  influences  of  magic,  contained  elements  of  reli- 
gious aspiration  and  fervor.  The  Incantation  Rituals  were 
in  the  hands  of  a  special  class  of  priests  who  had  worked 
out  a  gorgeous  ceremonial  calculated  to  impress  the  wor- 
shipers deeply.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  gist  of  the 
whole  exercise  was  to  avert  the  anger  of  the  deities,  which 
might  only  be  done  by  going  through  a  series  of  incanta- 
tions. The  magical  has  penetrated  the  religion  so  deeply  that 
it  seems  exceedingly  difficult  to  escape  it.  The  fear  of  the 
gods  makes  almost  impossible  an  approach  based  on  trust 
and  confidence  in  the  good  will  of  the  divine  beings.  A 
higher  stage  is  reached  in  the  Penitential  Psalms.  The 
worshiper  feels  and  confesses  that  he  has  done  wrong.  He 
appeals  to  this  god  and  to  that  for  forgiveness  and  cleansing. 
The  sins  confessed  run  all  the  way  from  moral  evil  to  merely 
ceremonial  offenses,  discrimination  between  the  two  not  be- 
ing carefully  made.  Even  at  this  stage,  the  highest  reached 
by  the  Babylonians,  there  is  much  to  be  desired.  The  "ex- 
ceeding sin  fulness  of  sin"  does  not  become  apparent.  Con- 
fession and  forgiveness  are  looked  upon  more  as  things  to 
be  done  in  order  not  to  suffer  the  evil  that  might  otherwise 
come  than  as  the  heartfelt  expression  of  a  heart  filled  with 
its  own  unworthiness  and  desiring  to  get  back  into  the  love 
and  confidence  of  a  compassionate  Saviour-God. 

So  widely  have  the  rewards  and  penalties  of  another  life 
been  looked  upon  as  furnishing  the  only  sufficient  sanction 

11  Civilization  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  p.  266.  (Lippincott,  Phil- 
adelphia, 1915.) 


104          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

for  a  moral  life  that  many  are  led  to  wonder  at  the  high 
ethical  standards  of  the  Code  of  Hammurabi,  when  seen  in 
the  light  of  the  cheerless  prospect  of  another  world  which 
was  as  much  as  the  Babylonians  ever  achieved.  The  lot  of 
the  dead  is  not  to  be  envied.  There  is  nothing  to  do  and 
no  pleasures  to  enjoy  in  the  dusty,  cold,  and  dark  prison 
where  the  dead,  huddled  together  indiscriminately,  live 
out  their  miserable  existence.  There  is  no  chance  of  a 
return  to  the  clear  upper  air,  except  it  may  be  for  a  short 
time.  There  is  no  retribution  for  the  wicked,  no  reward 
for  the  good,  and  no  hope  of  anything  better.  The  only 
thing  to  make  their  condition  worse  would  be  for  the  corpse 
to  remain  unburied  or  be  mutilated.  Then  even  a  worse 
fate  is  his,  to  roam  over  the  world  and  feed  upon  offal  in 
company  with  other  miserable  ghosts.  And  yet,  like  the 
Hebrews  who  held  a  similar  belief  relative  to  the  future 
life,  these  people  developed  an  ethical  system  which  does 
them  high  honor.  But  even  here  they  were  surpassd  by 
the  ideals  of  Zoroastrianism  which  were  brought  into  the 
country  with  the  coming  of  Cyrus.  The  old  religion  ceased 
to  be  as  an  organized  faith  when  the  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian empires  passed  from  the  scene,  but  their  influence 
did  not  perish.  Babylonian  astrology  and  divination  and 
other  features  of  their  occult  lore  traveled  westward  and 
exerted  a  potent  influence  in  the  later  days  of  the  paganism 
of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  even  to-day  the  gypsy  astrologer 
and  fortune-teller  remind  us  of  the  days  when  these  and 
other  forms  of  hocus-pocus  were  in  their  glory  in  the 
Euphrates  Valley. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

Egypt: 

J.  H.  Breasted,  Ancient  Times  (New  York,  1916),  Chaps.  I-III. 
J.  H.  Breasted,  Development  of  Religion  and  Thought  in  Ancient 

Egypt  (New  York,  1912). 
Georg  Steindorff,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians   (New 

rork,  1905). 


EGYPT   AND    MESOPOTAMIA  105 

George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions  (New  York,  1913),  Vol.  I, 

Chaps.  VIII,  IX. 

Babylonia  and  Assyria: 

J.  H.  Breasted,  Ancient  Times,  Chaps.  IV,  V. 
Robert  William  Rogers,   The  Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria 

(New  York,  1908). 
Morris  Jastrow,  Jr.,  Aspects  of  Religious  Belief  in  Babylonia  and 

Assyria  (New  York,  1911). 
George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  X. 


CHAPTER  IV 
GREECE  AND  ROME 

RELIGION  BEFORE  HOMER 

LONG  before  the  arrival  of  the  Greeks  a  civilization  had 
flourished  in  the  lands  which  they  afterward  occupied. 
Until  recent  years  little  or  nothing  was  known  of  this  civili- 
zation, which  had  its  center  in  the  island  of  Crete  and  sent 
out  its  influences  to  the  adjacent  shores  of  the  mainland  and 
islands  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  spade  of  the  archaeolo- 
gist has  in  the  last  generation  unearthed  remains  which 
prove  that  this  sea-faring  people  had  developed  a  remark- 
able culture.  The  Minoan  civilization,  as  it  is  called,  was 
divided  into  three  periods,  the  first  of  which  reaches  back 
as  far  as  the  pyramid  age  in  Egypt,  or  about  B.  C.  2500, 
while  the  last  may  be  dated  between  B.  C.  1600  and  1200. 
The  immediate  interest  we  have  in  this  development  is  that 
when  the  Greek  immigrants  made  their  way  down  from  the 
north  they  came  in  contact  with  a  far  higher  civilization 
than  their  own.  What  we  know  as  Greek  civilization  is 
really  the  fusion  of  two  cultures,  a  fusion  which  took  place 
at  so  distant  a  date  and  so  long  before  these  people  kept  rec- 
ords that  its  actuality  has  only  been  fully  established  in  recent 
years.  Excavations  at  Mycenae  and  other  localities  in  Greece 
have  revealed  the  existence  of  this  early  so-called  Mycenaean 
civilization  and  have  opened  up  a  new  world  for  scholarly 
investigation.  This  period  in  early  Greek  history  synchro- 
nizes with  the  last  of  the  Minoan,  that  is,  about  B.  C.  1600 
to  i 200. 

The  Greeks,  then,  came  from  the  north  and  settled  and 
conquered  and  assimilated  with  the  population  already  in 

1 06 


GREECE  AND   ROME  107 

the  land.  We  do  not  know  much  about  them  in  that  early 
period.  Without  doubt  they  were  a  branch  of  the  widely 
extended  Indo-European  race,  which  we  shall  meet  again 
in  Persia  and  India  as  well  as  in  Europe.  The  Romans  were 
another  branch  of  the  same  racial  stock.  But  in  each  case 
the  Indo-European  has  come  in  contact  with  some  aborig- 
inal race  whom  it  has  conquered  and  with  whom  it  has 
blended.  And  while  there  is  some  resemblance  between  the 
different  members  of  this  scattered  family,  each  has  devel- 
oped marked  individual  traits.  The  Greek  is  quite  distinct 
from  the  Roman,  and  each  has  had  its  unique  contribution 
to  make  to  the  subsequent  history  of  Western  civilization. 
Seen  in  this  light,  Greece  and  Rome  still  live,  and  the  "glory 
that  was  Greece"  and  the  "grandeur  that  was  Rome"  are 
still  shedding  their  luster  on  the  world  of  the  twentieth 
century. 

We  know  little  about  the  religion  of  the  Greeks  of  the 
early  age.  What  can  now  be  asserted  is  not  known  by  direct 
evidence  so  much  as  by  inference.  Hints  of  all  kinds  are 
given  which  seem  to  point  back  to  practices  and  beliefs  of 
an  age  long  since  past.  This  is  not  very  satisfactory,  but 
it  is  the  best  we  can  do  at  the  present  time.  Putting  these 
various  hints  together  and  interpreting  them  on  the  basis  of 
analogous  situations  in  the  development  in  other  countries, 
tentative  conclusions  more  or  less  convincing  may  be  formed. 
It  is  important  to  do  this,  because  any  light  which  may  be 
shed  on  the  beginnings  of  the  religion  of  so  remarkable  a 
people  as  the  Greeks  is  welcomed  as  an  aid  to  understand 
the  meaning  of  their  genius  and  development. 

It  may  be  inferred  that  the  early  Greek  was  an  animist 
and  thus  in  the  same  line  of  development  with  all  other 
peoples  whose  origins  are  known.  Evidences  are  not  lack- 
ing that  their  deities  were  nature  gods,  and  that  they  rev- 
erenced and  even  worshiped  their  ancestors.  It  is  probable 
that  at  an  early  time  the  gods  were  sufficiently  differentiated 
to  be  considered  in  charge  of  this  or  that  interest.  They 


108          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

had  in  some  sense  become  "departmental"  gods,  specially 
connected  with  the  great  functions  of  nature  and  human 
life.  The  reason  why  so  much  indefiniteness  should  exist 
at  this  point  is  that  the  Greek  mind  so  soon  conceived  of 
its  gods  as  like  men  and  separated  them  from  the  objects  in 
nature  with  which  they  were  connected  that  the  relation 
was  very  early  all  but  lost  and  can  now  scarcely  be  discov- 
ered. They  were  complete  personalities  like  ourselves 
and  not  at  all  suggestive  of  the  natural  objects  which  had 
first  appealed  to  the  early  Greek  as  alive  and  connected  with 
his  affairs. 

We  know  that  the  coming  of  the  seasons  was  the  signal 
for  the  holding  of  the  religious  festivals,  that  these  early 
settlers  believed  in  a  future  life,  and  looked  upon  their 
departed  ancestors  as  able  to  confer  blessing  upon  their 
faithful  descendants.  There  is  no  reason  for  thinking  that 
images  were  worshiped  in  this  period,  nor  that  the  references 
to  animals  and  their  connection  with  the  gods  pointed  back 
to  a  totemic  organization  of  society.  In  all  probability  each 
community  had  its  god  of  the  heavens  who  sent  the  light 
and  the  rain.  There  must  have  been  a  mother  goddess, 
representing  "Mother  Earth/'  the  kindly  and  loving  giver 
of  life.  There  is  evidence  that  they  worshiped  "a  queen 
of  wild  beasts,  the  patron  of  the  chase,"  "the  shepherd  god," 
"a  god  of  fire,"  and  "the  spirits  of  the  sea."  As  the  Greeks 
proceeded  southward  in  their  migrations  and  came  into 
contact  with  the  older  civilization,  they  took  over  certain 
gods  already  in  possession.  Among  these  undoubtedly 
were  goddesses  hitherto  unknown  but  rapidly  incorporated 
in  their  worship.  Their  Greek  names  give  no  clue  as  to 
their  origin,  thus  making  the  problem  of  their  Greek  or  non- 
Greek  origin  the  more  difficult  of  solution. 

Determined  partly  by  the  physical  configuration  of  Greece, 
divided  by  the  sea  and  the  mountains  into  tiny  sections,  but 
as  much  if  not  more  so  by  the  bent  of  the  Greek  mind,  with 
its  independence  and  love  of  individual  initiative,  Greek 


GREECE  AND   ROME  109 

civilization  took  the  form  of  small  independent  principalities 
or  states.  Each  secluded  valley  or  plain  centered  in  a  city, 
and  this  city  exercised  its  sway  until  the  mountain  or  the 
sea  interposed  and  brought  to  an  end  its  authority.  Attempts 
were  made  to  break  through  this  division  into  small  states 
and  form  larger  units,  even  a  kingdom  or  empire,  but  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  the  Greek  polis,  the  city,  and  the 
surrounding  territory  was  the  unit  and  determined  the  char- 
acteristic form  of  Greek  political  life.  In  like  manner  Greek 
religion  was  a  religion  of  city  states,  each  city  differing  in 
some  particulars  from  its  neighbors,  with  its  own  divinities 
and  its  own  worship.  With  all  the  unity  attained  in  later 
times  the  local  forms  were  so  tenacious  that  they  never 
ceased  to  mark  off  the  cult  of  one  state  from  that  of  another. 
The  bearing  of  these  two  tendencies,  the  one  divisive  and 
the  other  unifying,  is  highly  important  in  the  study  of  Greek 
religion.  The  best  known  and  greatest  of  the  gods  of 
Greece  was  Zeus.  Connected  with  the  overarching  sky,  the 
giver  of  the  bounties  which  come  with  the  light  of  the  sun 
and  the  rain,  Zeus  was  early  acknowledged  as  a  god  by  all 
the  Greek  states,  but  in  each  case  the  Zeus  worshiped  had 
a  secondary  title.  This  title  was  local  and  represented  the 
god  peculiar  to  each  state,  which  had  been  retained  when 
he  had  been  identified  with  the  great  Zeus.  The  small  local 
community  also  made  possible  one  of  the  forms  of  worship, 
the  communal  meal,  in  which  all  the  citizens  took  part. 
In  it  the  close  connection  between  the  city  and  its  gods  was 
sacramentally  celebrated.  The  god  was  looked  upon  as 
kindly  disposed  toward  his  own  people,  not  an  angry  god 
in  need  of  propitiation.  So  these  occasions  were  joyous 
festivals,  the  eating  together  of  the  divinity  and  his  people, 
far  removed  from  the  awful  sacrifices  to  which  other  peoples 
gave  themselves  in  times  of  stress.  Greek  religion  had  its 
somber,  more  tragic  phase,  but  in  general,  particularly  in 
the  earlier  period,  was  marked  by  an  airy  cheerfulness  and 
delight  in  beauty  which  were  characteristic  of  the  race. 


no          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

THE  HOMERIC  CONTRIBUTION 

The  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey  of  Homer  reflect  the  life  and 
religion  of  about  B.  C.  1000.  These  epics  fulfilled  the  two- 
fold function  of  depicting  the  gods  as  they  were  conceived 
by  the  people  at  an  early  day  and  of  crystallizing  for  hun- 
dreds of  years  the  religious  ideas  of  the  growing  commu- 
nities of  Greece.  The  stories  contained  in  these  poems  were 
composed  to  be  sung,  and,  repeated  many  times  over  at 
banquets  and  festivals,  filled  the  imagination  of  the  people 
with  the  stately  mythology  and  picturesque  legends  of  their 
own  distant  past. 

The  chief  religious  characteristic  of  the  epics  is  anthropo- 
morphism. The  gods  were  personalities  like  men  and 
women.  They  were  superhuman,  to  be  sure,  but  for  all 
that  they  were  only  human  beings  built  large.  Their  power 
was  manifested  in  nature ;  the  world  was  ruled  from  Mount 
Olympus,  the  residence  of  King  Zeus  and  his  celestial  court. 
He,  as  the  chief  ruler  of  the  universe,  guided  the  events  of 
human  history  and  determined  the  destiny  of  men.  While 
every  conception  of  the  gods  is  cast  in  a  human  mold, 
the  epic  always  insists  on  a  difference  between  men  and 
gods.  The  gods  are  not  confronted  with  the  trials  and 
sufferings  of  men;  they  are  immortal  and  live  on  heavenly 
nectar  and  ambrosia,  far  removed  from  death  and  decay. 
Yet  they  are  not  omniscient,  and  in  their  passions  and  feel- 
ings are  just  like  ordinary  men.  It  is  almost  an  indignity 
to  man  to  say  that  the  gods  are  like  him,  because  in  their 
intercourse  on  Olympus  the  gods  are  guilty  of  such  amours 
and  give  exhibition  of  such  passions  as  to  bring  a  blush  to 
the  cheek  of  ordinary  men  at  their  bare  recital.  So  we  feel, 
and  so  the  thinkers  and  writers  of  the  classical  age  in 
Greece  felt.  They  condemned  such  conduct  in  gods  as  well 
as  in  men,  refusing  to  believe  that  any  god  worthy  of  their 
reverence  should  show  such  weaknesses.  It  may  be  said 
that  while  in  the  epic  the  gods  appear  at  a  disadvantage, 


GREECE  AND  ROME  in 

living  in  the  company  of  one  another  in  the  celestial  heights, 
as  individuals  and  in  their  relation  to  men  and  human 
affairs  they  are  seen  in  an  entirely  different  light,  thus 
emphasizing  the  difference  between  the  Homeric  mythol- 
ogy and  the  religion  of  the  Greek  states.  In  the  cults  the 
gods  appear  as  objects  worthy  of  reverence  and  worship, 
looked  upon  in  the  light  of  the  religious  traditions  which  had 
grown  up  around  them  in  the  local  centers. 

Zeus  was  always  the  greatest  of  the  gods,  and  such  had 
he  been  from  the  earliest  times  of  which  we  have  any  knowl- 
edge. He  accompanied  the  Greeks  as  far  as  their  colonies 
were  planted  and  became  more  than  any  other  the  national 
god.  He  was  "the  protector  of  political  and  social  groups 
from  the  state  to  the  household.  He  also  took  under  his 
especial  cognizance  moral  relations  among  men."1  Artemis 
is  the  goddess  of  wild  nature,  and  takes  life,  but,  strange  to 
say,  is  the  protector  of  all  life  as  well.  In  the  end  she  is 
presented  as  a  chaste  huntress,  punishing  those  who  do  not 
remain  pure  and  clean.  Apollo,  the  model  of  manly  beauty 
and  perfection,  is  a  shepherd  and  the  deity  of  the  shep- 
herds. At  the  same  time  he  becomes  the  god  of  revelation 
and  at  Delphi  renders  decisions  on  perplexing  practical 
questions.  Here  all  Greece  comes  and  offers  him  homage, 
thus  quickening  the  latent  sense  of  unity  which  Greece  so 
much  needed.  Hermes  was  another  shepherd  god  and  closely 
associated  with  Apollo.  He  was  so  swift  of  foot  that  he 
came  to  be  recognized  as  the  messenger  of  the  gods. 

Besides  these  there  were  Poseidon,  the  god  of  the  sea; 
Athena,  second  only  to  Zeus,  the  patroness  of  civilization, 
the  inventive  genius,  skilled  in  arts  and  industries.  Aphro- 
dite, the  beautiful  goddess  of  fertility  and  of  love;  Hera, 
the  wife  of  Zeus,  presiding  over  husbandry  and  industry, 
the  patroness  of  married  women;  Hephaistos,  the  skillful 
artificer,  patron  of  craftsmen,  god  of  fire  and  the  forge; 
Ares,  the  warrior,  the  fickle  god,  husband  of  Aphrodite; 

1 G.  F.  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  vol.  i,  p.  416. 


112  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Demeter,  "Mother  Earth,"  the  goddess  of  the  fertile  soil 
and  of  tillage,  who  at  a  later  date  emerges  into  great  prom- 
inence in  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries.  There  are  many  other 
divinities,  each  preserving  his  individuality  despite  the  num- 
ber of  the  gods  in  the  pantheon.  There  was  no  worship  of 
gods  seeking  human  ill.  If  at  any  time  ill  fortune  came,  it 
was  because  the  gods,  capricious  like  men,  were  temporarily 
angry.  There  was  nothing  vague  or  mystical  about  the 
Greek  idea  of  divinity.  The  outlines  were  clear,  the  form 
perfect,  and  everything  connected  with  the  conception  of 
the  worship  of  the  gods  was  beautiful  and  harmonious. 
Unfortunately,  "they  were  not  far  enough  off  or  holy  enough 
to  make  religion  so  potent  a  factor  as  it  might  be  in  Greek 
life/'2 

While  in  general  the  relation  between  gods  and  men  is 
kindly  and  familiar,  there  is  another  side.  Death  is  present, 
and  is  only  baleful  and  horrid.  There  is  some  sense  of 
wrongdoing  and  the  need  of  sacrifice  in  view  of  sin.  There 
is  a  lower  world,  the  abode  of  the  Chthonian,  or  nether- 
earth,  gods,  whose  shadow  falls  at  times  over  the  path  of 
man  even  in  sunny  Greece.  Worship,  however,  is  more  of  a 
companionship,  doing  reverence  to  a  great  king  in  the  heav- 
enly realm,  without  any  of  the  cringing  fear  and  abject 
servility  so  common  in  other  religions.  Combined  with  an 
artistic  temperament  of  the  finest  quality,  religion  expressed 
itself  in  outward  adornment  of  exquisite  beauty.  All  the 
Greeks  did  was  beautiful  and  harmonious,  and  in  no  feature 
of  their  life  was  the  result  more  telling  or  more  influential 
for  all  future  generations  than  in  the  temples  of  their  gods. 
By  the  time  of  the  epic  poems  all  the  coarse  and  cruel  fea- 
tures of  the  cult  had  been  put  away  and  every  expression 
of  the  religious  sentiment  was  in  accord  with  the  finest  taste, 
a  fitting  counterpart  to  the  beauties  of  nature  and  art  to  be 
seen  on  all  sides. 

2  From  Handbook  of  Greek  Religion,  Fairbanks  (p.  148).  Copyright. 
By  permission  American  Book  Company,  Publishers. 


GREECE  AND  ROME  113 

THE  MYSTERIES 

Not  for  centuries  after  the  rise  of  the  epic  did  the  worship 
find  its  full  development.  Temples  grew  in  beauty  and  ele- 
gance, images  were  gradually  introduced,  and  the  ceremonial 
became  more  ornate  and  finished  in  form  and  content.  But 
in  all  we  have  described  there  was  little  chance  for  the  indi- 
vidual as  an  individual  to  express  his  own  religious  emo- 
tions. Everything  was  performed  by  the  family  or  clan  or 
city;  it  was  corporate  worship  with  little  reference  to  the 
individual.  But  by  the  seventh  century  before  our  era  the 
individual  had  come  to  a  place  of  importance  as  a  citizen  in 
the  city-state,  and  with  this  new  attainment  were  born  new 
needs  and  aspirations  which  could  not  be  satisfied  by  the 
formal,  though  beautiful  and  decorous,  worship  of  the  cor- 
porate body  of  citizens.  He  needed  and  demanded  what 
was  more  personal  and  individual  and  vital. 

Far  to  the  north  in  Thrace  lived  a  strange  god  named 
Dionysus.  He  was  "the  old  spirit  of  vegetable  life,  incar- 
nate in  the  bull,  incarnate  in  the  wine."  "His  worship  was 
of  a  distinctly  orgiastic  character.  Groups  of  his  wor- 
shipers, mainly  women,  found  their  way  at  night  with 
torches  into  wild  glens  on  the  mountains;  the  music  of 
drums  and  cymbals  and  flutes  stirred  sensitive  spirits  till 
their  whirling  dances  and  wild  summons  to  the  god  induced 
a  religious  frenzy;  serpents  were  fondled,  the  young  of 
wild  animals  were  now  suckled  by  human  mothers,  now  torn 
in  pieces  and  eaten  raw.  The  fawn-skin  garment,  the  wand 
tipped  with  a  fir  cone  and  wreathed  in  ivy,  sometimes  horns 
attached  to  the  head,  recalled  the  god  to  whose  service  they 
were  devoted."  The  idea  in  all  this  wild  worship  was  "the 
identification  of  the  worshipers  and  the  god.  The  wilder 
the  frenzy,  the  more  the  worshiper  felt  himself  free  from 
the  restraints  of  the  body  and  the  restraints  of  the  material 
world."*  All  this  was  incongruous  with  the  orderly  and 

3Fairbanks's  Greek  Religion  (p.  241).    See  note,  p.  112. 


114          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

beautiful  worship  of  the  Olympian  gods  and  could  only  find 
its  way  into  Greek  life  because  of  a  deep  need  unsatisfied 
by  the  regular  forms  of  the  established  religion.  It  is  true 
that  the  crudeness  of  the  frenzied  practices  was  toned  down 
as  they  came  into  the  south  and  became  a  permanent  feature 
of  Greek  religious  life,  but  we  are  dealing  in  Dionysus  wor- 
ship with  something  foreign,  which  could  only  have  been 
admitted  because  of  new  desires  which  were  stirring  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  A  longing  for  purification,  a  desire  to 
experience  religion  in  the  inner  life,  and  the  hope  of  immor- 
tality were  abroad  and  could  not  be  stifled. 

Another  expression  of  the  same  spirit  was  the  increasing 
importance  attached  to  the  worship  of  Demeter,  already 
referred  to  as  goddess  of  the  soil  and  crops.  According  to 
the  myth,  Persephone,  the  daughter  of  Demeter,  is  seized 
by  Hades  and  carried  away  to  the  lower  world.  Demeter, 
controlling  the  growth  of  the  grain,  brings  men  and  gods  to 
the  point  of  famine  by  failing  in  her  grief  to  perform  her 
wonted  function.  Zeus  is  compelled  to  intervene  and  suc- 
ceeds in  bringing  Persephone  back  to  earth  and  her  mother. 
But,  having  tasted  the  food  of  Hades,  she  must  return  and 
spend  a  third  of  the  year  with  him,  but  in  the  spring  returns 
with  the  blooming  flowers  and  rejoices  the  hearts  of  all.  The 
touching  story  took  renewed  hold  on  the  imagination  of  the 
Greeks,  and  as  a  feature  in  the  mysteries  of  Eleusis  became 
especially  prominent  in  the  classical  age  at  Athens.  The  res- 
cue of  Persephone  from  the  land  of  the  shades  becomes  the 
earnest  of  their  expectation  that  men,  too,  might  look  for 
a  real  immortality  on  the  other  side  of  the  grave.  "It  is 
another  instance  of  the  resuscitation  of  plant  life  after  the 
winter's  death  taken  as  the  promise  and  proof  that  man, 
too,  may  rise  to  newness  of  life."* 

The  great  Eleusinian  mysteries  were  performed  at  Athens 
and  the  adjacent  Eleusis  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  became 
a  part  of  the  established  religion.  The  procession  of  the 

4  G.  F.  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  p.  4$of . 


GREECE  AND  ROME  115 

initiated  and  the  neophytes  as  it  wended  its  way  slowly  to 
the  sacred  precincts  of  Eleusis  was  in  itself  impressive. 
There  the  ceremonies,  of  which  we  have  exceedingly  scant 
information,  lasted  two  or  three  days.  The  important  thing 
was  not  the  doctrine  which  was  imparted  but  the  impression 
made.  The  myth  of  Demeter  and  Persephone  was  doubtless 
enacted,  vividly  picturing  the  return  of  the  soul  from  the 
clutches  of  death.  The  purpose  of  all  the  rites  and  cere- 
monies was  to  satisfy  the  longing  for  immortality  by  the 
assurance  which  comes  through  an  emotional  reaction.  So 
strong  must  have  been  the  desire  and  so  slightly  was  it  min- 
istered to  by  the  ancient  state  cults  that  the  mysteries  at 
Eleusis,  and  others  which  were  less  famous,  continued  to 
exert  an  influence  until  Christianity  superseded  the  old 
paganism. 

There  were  still  other  manifestations  of  the  same  reach- 
ing out  after  a  religion  which  touched  the  inner  life.  The 
Orphic  brotherhoods,  wandering  evangelists  of  a  new  life, 
were  to  be  met  all  over  Greece.  For  a  time  in  the  fifth  and 
fourth  centuries  B.  C.  they  exerted  a  more  wide-reaching 
influence  than  any  other  religious  agency.  They  came  into 
Greece  in  connection  with  one  of  the  waves  of  the  worship 
of  Dionysus  which  swept  over  the  country.  They  received 
their  name  from  Orpheus,  the  sweet  singer,  who  charmed 
the  wild  beasts  and  fierce  men  by  his  strains,  and  is  even  said 
to  have  been  able  to  move  trees  and  stones.  Grieving  over 
his  wife,  whom  he  had  failed  to  rescue  from  Hades,  he 
betook  himself  to  the  mountain  fastnesses,  where  he  was 
killed  by  the  maenads,  who  tore  him  limb  from  limb.  Here 
was  tragedy  and  pathos  sufficient  to  appeal  to  the  deepest  feel- 
ings of  men.  More  than  any  of  the  other  mysteries  the  Orphic 
religion  was  concerned  with  the  next  life.  It  preached  its 
gospel  to  the  individual,  calling  upon  men  to  put  away  evil, 
to  accept  a  new  way  of  salvation,  and  to  enter  into  mystic 
and  sacramental  union  with  their  god.  Unlike  the  Eleusinian 
mysteries,  which  were  incorporated  into  the  established  reli- 


ii6          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

gion,  the  Orphic  faith  was  a  kind  of  vagrant,  outside  the 
regular  channels  of  religious  life.  This  very  fact  serves, 
however,  to  emphasize  the  inadequacy  of  the  old  formal 
cults  and  the  need  for  just  the  gospel  which  the  Orphic 
preachers  proclaimed. 

The  Elusinia  was  almost  exclusively  Greek,  Roman  citi- 
zens being  the  only  outsiders  to  be  admitted  to  the  mystic 
rites.  The  Orphic  brotherhoods,  on  the  contrary,  had  a 
message  for  all  men,  "Greek  and  barbarian,  bond  and  free." 
Man,  they  said,  is  half-divine  and  belongs  to  "the  kindred 
of  God."  He  may  in  this  life  have  communion  with  the 
deity  and  in  the  next,  after  being  purified  from  all  his  stains, 
may  have  fellowship  with  him  forever.  This  has  a  decid- 
edly Christian  sound;  it  is,  in  fact,  the  high  water  mark  of 
Greek  religion,  only  to  be  surpassed  by  the  coming  of  a  reli- 
gion which  could  in  a  more  complete  manner  fulfill  the  moral 
and  spiritual  aspirations  which  Orphism  could  only  par- 
tially satisfy. 

THE  PHILOSOPHERS 

At  the  same  time  the  gospel  of  personal  religion  was  re- 
ceiving a  wide  hearing  in  Greece  another  movement,  even 
more  significant  for  the  future,  was  coming  to  its  own  and 
making  its  contribution  to  Greek  culture.  It  was  the  rise  of 
the  philosopher  and  the  philosophic  poet.  They,  rather  than 
the  priests,  dominated  the  thought  life  of  the  Greeks  and 
gave  to  the  people  the  most  worthy  ideas  of  God  and  the 
soul  which  have  come  to  us  out  of  paganism.  It  was  secu- 
lar literature  unhampered  by  the  restraints  of  ecclesiastical 
authority.  The  priesthoods  of  Greece  never  assumed  con- 
trolling authority  over  the  opinions  and  actions  of  men. 
They  had  no  sacred  scriptures  to  which  they  could  appeal  as 
authoritative  and  which  might  serve  as  a  touchstone  of 
orthodoxy.  The  result  was  that  there  were  no  doctrines 
which  formed  a  body  of  dogma  to  which  all  might  be  com- 
pelled to  conform.  Nowhere  in  the  ancient  world,  and  only 


GREECE  AND   ROME  117 

in  comparatively  recent  years  in  Christendom,  has  such  lib- 
erty prevailed  as  in  Greece.  It  was  the  very  atmosphere 
which  they  breathed.  The  human  mind  was  loosed  to  ven- 
ture the  hardest  problems  and  to  master  the  world  of  intel- 
lect and  of  nature.  Well  was  it  that  this  opportunity  came 
to  men  of  such  consummate  ability.  Never  have  the  two  in 
such  measure  been  found  in  juxtaposition  even  down  to 
our  own  time.  The  Greeks  have  taught  us  how  to  think, 
and  we  sit  at  their  feet  to-day.  Their  minds  ranged  over 
the  whole  field  of  human  learning,  and  were  irresistibly 
drawn  to  look  into  the  human  heart  and  interpret  the 
thoughts  and  desires  which  religion  had  implanted. 

The  Odes  of  Pindar,  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  poets, 
begin  already  to  turn  away  from  the  epic  account  of  the 
gods  and  their  actions.  With  all  his  love  for  the  old  stories  he 
does  not  hesitate  to  reject  what  is  crude  and  immoral.  He 
will  not  believe  that  the  gods  are  guilty  of  any  such  conduct, 
and  considers  it  blasphemy  to  impute  wrong  deeds  to  them. 
The  great  dramatic  poets  have  their  contribution  to  make. 
To  them  there  is  unity  in  the  moral  order  of  the  universe. 
Zeus  is  raised  to  a  lofty  position  as  the  governor  of  the 
world.  His  righteous  rule  extends  over  all  men  and  holds 
them  to  the  exacting  standards  of  justice  and  honor.  Each 
in  his  own  way,  the  three  great  dramatic  poets,  ^Eschylus, 
Sophocles,  and  Euripides,  show  little  patience  with  the 
stories  of  the  gods,  and  exhibit  the  Nemesis  of  wrong-doing 
and  the  tragic  consequences  of  hate.  They  were  on  the  side 
of  righteousness  and  the  higher  conception  of  man  and  God. 

Similarly,  the  great  philosophers  of  the  classical  period, 
Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle,  were  leaders  in  moral  as  well 
as  intellectual  development.  Particularly  was  this  true  of 
the  first  two  named.  Socrates  was  intent  on  pricking  the 
bubble  of  conceit  for  men  who  were  self-satisfied  and  com- 
placent in  their  theories,  but  more  than  that  he  was  con- 
stantly seeking  to  build  men  up  in  virtue.  For  Socrates 
virtue  is  defined  as  knowledge,  so  that  to  know  things  as 


ii8          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

they  are  and  to  see  clearly  is  to  be  good.  A  deeper  concep- 
tion of  morality  has  taken  us  far  past  this  stage,  but  the  deep 
feeling  that  there  is  a  spiritual  presence  in  the  world  working 
for  righteousness  and  the  unconquerable  hope  of  immor- 
tality, which  made  him  calm  and  even  cheerful  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  tragic  death,  mark  Socrates  as  one  of  the  great 
souls  in  the  history  of  ethics  and  religion. 

Plato  was  the  pupil  of  Socrates.  He  must  have  it  that 
the  gods  are  good,  that  they  will  never  stoop  to  evil  in  any 
form.  Thus,  being  righteous  themselves,  they  demand  the 
same  morality  in  men.  Receiving  from  his  great  master  an 
ethical  and  spiritual  outlook  on  life,  Plato  went  much  fur- 
ther and  elaborated  his  philosophy  into  a  system  whose  influ- 
ence is  in  many  respects  as  powerful  to-day  as  in  past  ages. 
We  live  in  a  spiritual  world  in  which  ideas  are  the  most  real 
and  important  ingredient.  The  great  Idea  is  God  and  he  is 
one.  Thus  Plato  was  laying  the  foundations  for  a  theistic 
interpretation  of  the  universe.  In  fact,  he  has  been  called 
"the  founder  of  theistic  philosophy."5  Aristotle,  "the  master 
of  those  who  know,"  is  far  more  interested  in  the  world  of 
nature  around  him.  He  is  the  man  of  science  as  well  as  the 
philosopher.  His  God  is  farther  away  from  men  than  that 
of  Plato.  Man  is  midway  between  God  and  the  physical 
universe  and  so  has  a  nature  both  spiritual  and  earthly.  He 
has  no  conception  of  immortality  as  a  personal  experience, 
as  was  taught  by  Plato  and  Socrates.  But  with  many  dif- 
ferences in  outlook  upon  life  and  its  problems  Aristotle 
takes  his  place  with  his  great  predecessors  in  the  insistence 
of  his  moral  demands  and  in  his  belief  in  a  unified  universe 
controlled  and  held  together  by  a  single  spiritual  Being 
over  all. 

In  the  later  period  as  we  approach  the  Christian  era  sev- 
eral philosophies  emerge  which  seek  to  interpret  life  to  a 
changing,  dissatisfied  age.  Epicureanism  is  not  guilty  of 
recommending  a  life  of  indulgence,  as  has  been  charged, 

*  G.  F.  Moore,  op.  cit.,  p.  499. 


GREECE  AND   ROME  119 

but  it  has  no  religious  message.  Believing  that  a  life  of 
contentment  can  only  be  lived  if  fear  of  the  gods  and  dread 
foreboding  concerning  the  future  be  eliminated,  it  pro- 
ceeded to  construct  a  philosophy  with  no  reference  to  the 
spiritual  world  either  now  or  hereafter.  A  very  different 
viewpoint  was  that  occupied  by  Stoicism,  stern  and  forbid- 
ding as  it  was  in  so  many  features.  There  is  a  God,  a  living 
God,  who  is  present  in  every  atom  of  the  universe,  and  this 
God  is  a  spirit.  But  when  spirit  is  defined  it  is  seen  not  to 
be  spiritual  in  any  sense  at  all.  It  is  matter  like  everything 
else,  though  matter  in  the  more  ethereal  form  of  fire  and 
vapor.  But  it  was  in  respect  of  morality  that  the  Stoics 
had  a  message  which  reached  many  of  the  finest  spirits  of 
the  age.  Good  and  evil  exist  side  by  side,  and  it  is  man's 
part  to  choose  between  them.  It  is  his  to  choose  virtue  and 
devote  himself  to  it.  He  is  to  do  so  solely  for  virtue's  sake, 
not  for  any  good  that  may  come  by  so  doing — that  were  to 
defeat  the  very  end  he  has  in  view.  Sternly  he  must  sup- 
press his  impulses  and  live  untouched  by  any  emotional 
appeals.  It  was  no  milk  for  babes,  this  Stoic  creed.  Small 
wonder  it  found  lodgment  in  the  hearts  of  many  of  the 
noblest  men.  It  was  exalted  and  far-reaching  in  its  demands 
on  life  and  offered  standing  room  for  men  who  would  not 
be  drawn  down  into  the  unethical  thinking  and  low  living 
of  the  mass  of  the  people  around  them. 

But  another  idea  was  abroad  in  the  land,  the  idea  that 
matter  is  intrinsically  evil.  Basing  their  teaching  on  Plato 
and  Pythagoras,  these  Neopythagoreans  placed  God,  "the 
principle  of  good,"  in  contrast  and  in  conflict  with  matter, 
which  is  evil  and  only  evil.  Men  are  partakers  of  the  divine 
nature,  but  are  in  danger  of  being  drawn  down  into  the 
vileness  of  their  natural  environment.  This  can  only  be 
prevented  by  overcoming  their  fleshly  desires  through  a 
strict  regimen,  which  included  becoming  vegetarians  and 
celibates. 

At  the  same  time  many  men  in  Greece  were  turning  their 


120          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

eyes  to  the  mysterious  East,  for  out  of  the  East  were  com- 
ing strange  religions  which  found  ready  acceptance  in  the 
lands  of  the  West.  We  shall  have  more  to  say  concerning 
these  mystery  religions  in  connection  with  the  later  days 
of  the  Roman  religion,  but  mention  is  made  of  them  here 
because  in  Greece  as  well  as  Rome  they  found  congenial 
soil  in  which  to  grow. 

The  last  phase  of  the  development  of  the  Greek  intellect 
was  Neoplatonism.  It  based  its  teaching  on  the  idealistic 
philosophy  of  Plato,  but  added  an  element  to  which  the 
great  philosopher  was  a  stranger.  It  was  philosophy  touched 
with  emotion.  It  also  partook  of  the  prevailing  thought  of 
the  day  that  matter  was  evil.  God  was  separated  from  man 
by  a  great  chasm,  even  though  man  originally  came  from 
God.  But  man  has  forgotten  his  origin  and  his  birthright 
and  goes  about  his  affairs  unmindful  of  his  heritage.  He 
may,  however,  get  back.  This  is  to  be  done  by  stages,  step 
by  step  regaining  what  had  been  lost,  until  in  the  end  he 
loses  himself  in  the  God  from  whom  he  had  come.  Only 
enough  has  been  said  about  Neoplatonism  and  the  other 
philosophies  to  indicate  that  they  were  religious;  that  they 
dealt  not  only  with  conduct  but  with  salvation;  that  they 
attempted  to  meet  the  needs  of  men  and  women  who  in  an 
age  of  confusion  were  seeking  the  light,  and  that  they  were 
very  evidently  preparing  the  way  for  the  coming  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  gathered  up  into  itself  all  the 
elements  of  worthy  appeal  to  be  found  in  the  philosophies 
which  had  preceded  it  and  which  in  addition  could  embody 
in  a  spotless  personality  the  very  essence  of  its  living  power 
— and  this  the  Greek  philosophies  could  not  do. 

EARLY  ROMAN  RELIGION 

The  mistake  often  has  been  made  of  thinking  that  Roman 
religion  was  about  the  same  as  Greek  religion.  The  mis- 
take could  easily  be  made  because  Greek  religion  was  trans- 
ported to  Rome  and  became  the  possession  of  the  Roman 


GREECE  AND  ROME  121 

people.  But  before  the  Greek  influence  began  to  be  felt 
Rome  had  a  religion  of  its  own,  and  the  character  of  this 
religion  must  be  understood  before  the  later  mixture  of 
Greek  and  Roman  ideas  can  be  appreciated.  Then  it  will 
be  seen  how  distinctive  the  Roman  contribution  was  and 
how  its  influence  was  a  powerful  factor  in  the  later  faith  of 
the  city  and  empire  of  Rome. 

The  early  religion  of  the  people  of  Rome  was  above  every- 
thing else  practical.  They  were  an  agricultural  people  and 
their  religion  was  suited  to  their  agricultural  needs.  Already 
we  begin  to  see  the  distinctive  character  of  whatever  is 
Roman.  These  people,  unlike  the  Greeks,  were  not  a  think- 
ing people ;  they  were  practical.  They  had  no  mythology 
and  no  philosophic  theories  of  the  origins  of  things.  They 
were  men  who  did  not  ask  questions  beyond  the  pragmatic 
question,  Is  it  useful?  does  it  work?  They  were  men  of 
law  and  order  and  authority  with  capacity  to  conquer  and 
to  rule.  They  conquered  the  world  of  the  Mediterranean 
basin  and  even  beyond,  and  out  of  the  loose  fragments 
welded  an  empire,  which  was  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
products  of  human  genius.  They  made  little  contribution  to 
the  intellectual  life  of  the  world,  but  they  developed  one  of 
the  most  important  gifts  of  the  ancient  to  the  modern  world, 
the  Roman  Law.  The  empire  went  to  pieces  when  the  bar- 
barians from  the  north  came  pouring  over  the  defenses  along 
the  Rhine  and  the  Danube  and  made  the  old  empire  their 
home,  but  the  influence  of  Rome  still  lives.  Our  laws  bear 
the  impress  of  the  various  Roman  codes,  particularly  that 
of  the  Emperor  Justinian,  and  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
we  have  in  every  country  of  the  world  the  inheritor  of  the 
organizing  genius  of  the  ancient  Romans,  which  exercises 
over  its  adherents  to-day  the  same  authority,  and  demands 
the  same  implicit  obedience  as  did  Rome  under  both  the 
republic  and  the  empire.  Rome  richly  deserves  the  title 
"eternal"  both  as  respects  her  continued  existence  as  a  city 
and  her  influence  in  the  world. 


122  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

The  gods  of  the  Romans  were  powers  who  were  expected 
to  do  the  things  they  were  capable  of  doing.  They  were 
powers,  numina,  with  scarcely  enough  personality  to  be 
called  gods.  No  images  were  made  of  them  because  the 
Roman  mind  had  never  conceived  of  its  divinities  as  per- 
sonal. Each  power  had  its  own  function  and  was  not  known 
in  any  other  way  than  in  its  performance.  This  caused  a 
division  of  labor  among  the  powers  which  seems  to  reduce 
the  gods  to  very  small  dimensions.  To  illustrate,  "Seia  has 
to  do  with  the  corn  before  it  sprouts,  Segetia  with  corn 
when  shot  up.  Tutilina  with  corn  stored  in  the  granary, 
Nodotus  has  for  his  care  the  knots  in  the  straw.  There  is  a 
god  Door,  a  goddess  Hinge,  a  god  Threshold.  Each  act  in 
opening  infancy  has  its  god  or  goddess.  The  child  has 
Cunina  when  lying  in  the  cradle,  Statina  when  he  stands, 
Edula  when  he  eats,  Locutius  when  he  begins  to  speak, 
Adeona  when  he  makes  for  his  mother,  Abeona  when  he 
leaves  her;  forty-three  such  gods  of  childhood  have  been 
counted.  Pilumnus,  god  of  the  pestle,  and  Diverra,  goddess 
of  the  broom,  may  close  our  small  sample  of  the  limitless 
crowd."8  This  is  animism  pure  and  simple,  animism  unde- 
veloped into  the  higher  forms  which  point  toward  polythe- 
ism. With  no  imagination  the  Roman  was  content  with  such 
a  relation  to  the  thousand  powers  around  him,  each  doing  its 
little  part  in  the  practical  work  of  life.  Such  was  the  condi- 
tion in  the  earliest  day,  but  later  certain  of  the  divinities 
assumed  an  importance  unknown  before  and  became  the 
greater  gods  of  the  state  religion.  Jupiter  holds  the  first 
place,  and  is  called  Optimus  Maximus,  and  next  comes 
Mars,  who  (with  Quirinus)  is  the  God  of  War.  Janus,  after 
whom  the  first  month  of  our  year  is  named,  is  the  god  of 
opening,  the  old  Roman  god  of  the  door  at  the  entrance  of 
the  house.  The  last  of  these  larger  gods  of  the  early  days 
was  Vesta,  originally  the  goddess  of  the  family  hearth  and 
latterly  the  guardian  of  the  state  hearth. 

*  Allan  Menzies,  History  of  Religion,  p.  307. 


GREECE  AND   ROME  123 

The  religion  of  the  family,  as  has  just  been  intimated,  was 
the  earliest  form  of  Roman  religion.  The  only  priest  in  that 
day  was  the  father  of  the  family,  the  paterfamilias.  He 
offered  the  sacrifices  and  led  the  family  in  its  religious  duties. 
Certain  of  the  earliest  deities  were  distinctively  family  gods. 
Vesta,  the  fire  of  the  hearth,  in  which  the  family  life  cen- 
tered, came  first.  The  duty  of  caring  for  the  fire  and  keep- 
ing the  hearth  clean  fell  to  the  mistress  of  the  house,  who 
thus  had  her  part  in  the  family  worship.  In  a  later  day, 
when  Vesta  became  a  goddess  of  the  state,  the  place  of  the 
mistress  of  the  house  was  taken  by  six  vestal  virgins, 
charged  with  the  keeping  of  the  fire  and  other  duties  spe- 
cially assigned  to  them.  The  Lares,  or  ancestral  spirits, 
watched  over  the  household,  and  the  Penates  protected  the 
storerooms,  on  which  the  sustenance  of  the  family  depended. 
The  Manes,  "the  kindly  deities,"  were  looked  upon  as  well 
disposed  to  the  living,  as  their  name  indicates.  Besides 
these  each  individual  had  his  own  protecting  divinity ;  in  the 
case  of  a  man  it  was  his  Genius,  of  a  woman  her  Juno. 
These  "good  angels,"  which  seem  often  to  be  little  more 
than  one's  other  self,  have  watch-care  through  life  over  one's 
fortunes  and  at  death  go  out  into  the  great  unknown 
with  him. 

As  the  old  family  religion  was  enlarged  into  the  state 
religion  it  became  in  a  very  definite  sense  an  affair  of  the 
state.  The  ministers  of  religion  were  state  officials,  ap- 
pointed and  performing  their  duties  like  other  officials. 
True  to  their  genius,  the  Romans  organized  this  state  reli- 
gion as  thoroughly  as  the  government,  of  which  in  reality 
it  was  a  part.  The  cult  was  purely  a  formal  performance 
of  the  ritual  and  ceremonial  with  no  vestige  of  sentiment 
about  it.  Great  care  was  exercised  to  secure  correctness  and 
precision  in  the  conduct  of  the  worship,  for  the  efficacy  of 
the  rite  depended  upon  just  these  things.  Like  a  stern 
earthly  potentate  who  demands  that  he  be  approached  with 
circumspection  and  that  he  be  addressed  with  the  proper 


124          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

titles,  so  the  gods  were  looked  upon  as  making  the  same 
demands.  The  gods  could  be  counted  upon  to  prevent  evils 
from  befalling  the  people  only  if  they  on  their  part  per- 
formed their  religious  duties  punctiliously  and  thus  gave 
them  the  honor  which  was  their  due. 

The  number  of  festival  days  was  large.  This  made  nec- 
essary the  organization  of  the  religious  officials,  that  all 
the  duties  might  be  properly  performed.  The  flamens  were 
priests  assigned  to  this  or  that  god,  on  whom  the  conduct 
of  the  worship  rested.  The  augurs  were  the  official  diviners, 
set  to  the  task  of  ascertaining  the  will  of  the  god  by  various 
forms  of  divination,  notably  the  observation  of  the  flight  of 
birds  and  the  examination  of  the  livers  of  sheep.  Other 
groups  might  also  be  named,  like  the  Arval  brothers,  who 
officiated  before  the  goddess  who  provided  the  needed  crops, 
and  the  Luperci,  or  wolf-men,  who  sacrificed  goats  and 
dogs  to  a  rustic  god  on  the  occasion  of  his  annual  festival.  In 
charge  of  the  affairs  of  religion  was  the  pontifex,  of  whom 
there  were  at  first  five,  later  fifteen,  whose  duties  were 
varied,  for,  being  state  officials,  they  were  charged  with 
duties  now  looked  upon  as  purely  secular.  With  their  con- 
ception of  the  gods  as  powers,  scarcely  personal,  there  was 
little  likelihood  that  any  attempt  would  be  made  to  repre- 
sent them  in  images  in  human  form,  and  with  no  images 
there  would  be  no  temples,  where  the  gods  might  dwell. 
This  development  was  not  reached  until  a  later  day,  when 
Rome  came  under  the  influence  of  foreign  cults. 

THE  CONTACT  WITH  GREECE 

With  all  the  changes  introduced  into  Roman  religion  by 
contact  with  outside  cults  what  has  already  been  described 
continued  as  the  religion  of  the  people  and  the  state  down 
through  the  period  of  the  republic,  which  lasted  from 
B.  C.  509  to  27.  Before  that  was  the  age  of  the  kings,  and 
after  that  the  empire,  which  so  far  as  the  west  was  con- 
cerned, came  to  an  end  in  A.  D.  476.  What  we  have  now 


GREECE  AND  ROME  125 

to  recount  took  place  in  the  days  of  the  republic.  But  even 
before  that  Roman  religion  had  been  modified  by  contact 
with  a  people  close  at  hand.  The  Etruscans  lived  in  Italy 
just  north  of  the  Tiber  and  were  thus  early  brought  into 
contact  with  the  Romans  as  they  began  to  settle,  say  about 
B.  C.  750,  on  the  hills  south  of  that  stream.  It  was  Etruscan 
influence  which  was  responsible  for  the  building  of  a  wall 
around  the  settlements  on  the  hilltops,  thus  making  Rome  a 
city  with  a  sense  of  unity  and  pride  in  itself.  And  the  same 
influence  was  responsible  for  the  pomerium,  or  plowed  fur- 
row around  the  city  within  which  no  foreign  deity  might 
be  allowed  to  come.  Thus  Rome  was  provided  through  this 
Etruscan  contact  with  both  a  material  and  a  spiritual  wall, 
which  raised  the  people  to  a  hitherto  unknown  sense  of 
their  unique  identity.  They  were  now  a  complete,  self- 
sufficient  power,  able  both  to  defend  themselves  and  enter 
upon  the  conquests  which  carried  their  eagles  almost  to  the 
bounds  of  the  then  known  world.  The  Etruscan  also  intro- 
duced the  temple,  or  templum,  which  in  that  day  did  not 
mean  a  building,  but  a  rectangular  area  marked  off  on  the 
ground,  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  counterpart  of  a  heav- 
enly rectangle,  and  from  which  the  flight  of  birds  could  be 
effectively  observed.  As  Professor  Jesse  Benedict  Carter 
suggests/  the  earliest  religion  of  the  Roman  people,  un- 
touched by  outside  influences,  appealed  to  the  social  instinct 
— it  was  the  religion  of  the  family  and  family  interests. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  Etruscans  the  religion  made  a 
strong  appeal  to  national  instinct — Rome  became  a  city,  self- 
conscious  and  strong  and  able  to  make  a  name  for  itself  in 
the  world. 

The  current  of  Greek  influence  began  about  the  time  the 
republic  was  established.  The  story  of  the  beginnings  of 
this  contact  with  Greece  is  shrouded  in  legend,  but  deserves 
to  be  told  even  in  so  short  a  sketch  as  this.  "A  later  age, 

7  The  Religious  Life  of  Ancient  Rome,  p.  63.    (Houghton  Mifflin, 
Boston,  1911.) 


126          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

from  whom  history  has  no  secrets,  with  a  cheap  would-be 
omniscience  told  of  the  old  woman  who  visited  Tarquin 
(the  last  of  the  kings)  and  offered  him  nine  books  for  a 
certain  price,  and  when  he  refused  to  pay  it,  went  away, 
burned  three,  and  then  returning  offered  him  at  the  orig- 
inal price  the  six  that  were  left;  on  his  again  refusing  she 
went  away,  burned  three  more  and  finally  offered  at  the 
same  old  price  the  three  that  remained,  which  he  accepted. 
Except  as  a  sidelight  on  the  character  of  the  early  Greek 
trader  the  story  is  worthless."8  The  fact  is  that  Rome  came 
early  into  contact  with  the  Greek  colonies  of  Southern  Italy 
and  at  some  time  about  the  beginning  of  the  republic  came 
into  possession  of  the  Sibylline  books,  the  traditional  story 
of  the  acquisition  of  which  from  the  old  woman  of  Cumse 
has  just  been  told.  These  books  were  treasured  by  the 
Romans  as  a  sacred  possession;  they  were  placed  for  safe 
keeping  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus  on  the 
Capitoline  Hill  in  the  care  of  guardians  specially  appointed 
for  that  purpose,  the  Quindecemviri;  or  the  Fifteen.  The 
books  were  kept  secret  and  under  the  control  of  the  Senate, 
who  determined  when  the  volumes  might  be  consulted.  All 
this  shows  the  reverence  in  which  these  mysterious  books 
were  held.  Now,  the  important  thing  about  them  was  that 
whenever  they  were  consulted  the  answer  always  came  that 
certain  deities,  Greek  deities  of  course,  should  be  introduced 
and  worshiped.  This  does  not  account  for  the  coming  of 
Greek  religion  into  Italy,  for  it  had  been  there  long  before 
and  had  already  begun  to  influence  Rome,  but  it  does  place 
the  sanction  of  official  approval  on  the  reception  of  these 
foreign  deities  and  worships.  So  important  is  this  remark- 
able movement  that  Professor  Carter  says  of  it,  "The  study 
of  the  outward  and  the  inward  effects  of  the  Sibylline  books 
is  therefore  the  real  history  of  religion  in  the  first  half  of 
the  republic."9 

'  Carter,  The  Religion  of  Numa,  p.  65.   (Macmillan,  London,  1906.) 
'Carter,  op.  cit,  p.  71. 


GREECE  AND   ROME  127 

In  the  year  B.  C.  496  Rome  was  in  difficulty;  her  crops 
had  failed  and  this  rendered  her  position  insecure  in  the  war 
with  the  Latins  then  being  waged.  Recourse  was  had  to  the 
Sibylline  books  and  the  result  was  the  introduction  into 
Rome  of  the  worship  of  Demeter,  Dionysus,  and  Persephone, 
Greek  deities  familiar  to  our  ears.  These  foreign  divinities 
were  not  allowed  within  the  pomerium,  so  continued  to  be 
looked  upon  as  outsiders.  They  dropped  their  Greek  names 
and  were  given  Roman  names,  names  of  already  existing 
Roman  gods  and  goddesses.  By  taking  their  names  these 
new  Greek  divinities  crowded  the  Roman  gods  out  of  their 
place  until  all  that  was  left  was  a  name.  Demeter  became 
known  as  Ceres,  an  old  fertility  goddess  about  whom  little 
is  known.  But  now  Demeter  with  the  old  name  Ceres  be- 
comes an  important  goddess  with  a  splendid  temple  and 
games  to  her  honor.  Dionysus  is  identified  with  Liber,  the 
patron  of  the  vine,  and  so  completely  absorbs  what  individ- 
uality Liber  had  developed  that  little  is  left  of  the  Roman 
god  save  the  name;  Persephone,  or  Kore,  is  identified 
with  Libera,  the  female  counterpart  of  Liber,  just  men- 
tioned. But  there  was  such  confusion  that,  when  in  a  later 
day  Persephone  was  again  introduced  into  Rome,  this  time 
without  change  of  name,  as  a  goddess  supposed  to  be  un- 
known before  in  the  city,  we  have  two  Roman  goddesses, 
Proserpina  and  Libera,  both  representing  the  same  Greek 
deity. 

After  this  Greek  gods  and  goddesses  came  into  Rome  one 
after  another  until  they  were  all  there.  Rome  had  enlarged 
her  pantheon  until  it  seemed  literally  to  include  all  the 
gods  of  the  countries  with  whom  she  was  in  touch.  Most 
of  these  gods  were  brought  in  at  some  time  of  stress.  They 
did  not  come  in  deliberately  to  take  the  place  of  the  old 
Roman  gods,  but  to  perform  some  function  for  which  no 
Roman  god  seemed  prepared.  The  very  idea  of  deity  was 
changed  by  the  process,  the  Romans  coming  in  the  end  to 
look  upon  their  Greek  gods  with  Latin  names  just  as  the 


128  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Greeks  looked  upon  them,  personalities  like  men  and  women, 
with  images  and  temples  in  which  they  lived.  The  old  ideas 
and  practices  languished  and  the  city  was  filled  with  new 
forms  of  worship.  It  was  a  veritable  conquest,  Rome  the 
Conqueror  vanquished  in  the  things  of  the  mind  and  the 
spirit  by  the  clever  and  versatile  Greek.  Zeus  may  be  identi- 
fied with  Jupiter,  Hera  with  Juno,  Poseidon  with  Neptune, 
Athena  with  Minerva,  Ares  with  Mars,  Aphrodite  with 
Venus,  Artemis  with  Diana,  Hermes  with  Mercury,  but  in 
the  identification  the  Greek  god  lived  on  in  power  and  influ- 
ence despite  the  Latin  name  which  had  been  assumed.  In 
the  end  these  new  deities  were  admitted  within  the  pome- 
rium  and  thus  were  looked  upon  as  thoroughly  Roman. 
From  the  time  of  the  Second  Punic  War,  about  the  year 
B.  C.  200,  no  differences  can  be  detected  between  the  Roman 
and  the  Greek  elements  in  the  cult;  it  is  a  new  religion  in 
fact,  the  Graeco-Roman,  and  such  it  remained  until  the  day 
when  it  disappeared  with  the  oncoming  of  Christianity. 

The  last  use  of  the  Sibylline  books  of  which  we  have  any 
record  was  in  the  crisis  of  B.  C.  205,  when  Hannibal  was  in 
Italy  and  Rome  was  in  danger  of  falling  into  his  hands. 
The  books  were  consulted  and  the  answer  came  that  the 
enemy  could  be  overcome  if  the  Great  Mother  of  the  Gods 
should  be  brought  to  Rome  from  her  home  in  Central  Asia 
Minor.  But  now  we  have  come  to  that  period  in  the  history 
of  Roman  religion  when  a  new  element,  not  Roman,  or  even 
Greek,  finds  its  way  into  the  worship  and  changes  it  still 
further  into  a  compound  faith,  with  ingredients  gathered 
from  all  the  lands  of  the  East.  To  understand  this  influ- 
ence is  the  final  task  in  order  to  estimate  the  religion  of 
pre-Christian  Rome. 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  EAST 

During  the  period  of  the  republic  (about  B.  C.  500  to  the 
beginning  of  our  era)  Rome  became  mistress  of  the  world. 
Never  had  there  been  such  an  empire.  Wealth  poured  into 


GREECE  AND  ROME  129 

the  city  and  Rome  became  the  metropolis  of  the  world,  the 
center  from  which  radiated  all  the  ideas  and  forces  which 
came  to  a  focus  in  the  multiform  activities  of  its  busy  life. 
But  Rome  had  changed ;  she  was  not  as  religious  as  she  had 
been  in  the  simpler  days  of  the  past.  Greek  philosophers 
had  come  in  with  their  criticism  of  the  old  religious  beliefs 
and  aided  the  disintegration  which  had  set  in.  The  deteri- 
oration was  not  only  religious  but  moral.  Few  people  can 
stand  such  rapid  increase  of  wealth  and  influence,  and  the 
Romans  were  no  exception  to  the  rule.  The  institution  of 
games  in  connection  with  the  triumphs  of  her  generals  and 
the  religious  festivals  demoralized  the  people  and  led  to 
such  excesses  that  the  morals  of  Rome  in  the  centuries  just 
before  and  just  after  Christ  have  become  a  byword  and  a 
reproach  in  all  succeeding  generations.  The  offices  of  reli- 
gion in  connection  with  the  state  cult  fell  into  disuse  and 
men  could  not  be  found  to  fill  positions  which  were  vacant. 
Such  ceremonies  as  were  performed  were  carried  through 
only  in  the  most  perfunctory  manner,  like  any  other  state 
function.  The  very  knowledge  of  some  old  religious  cere- 
monies perished  and  others  were  neglected,  so  that  they  had 
lost  all  meaning.  It  was  a  desperate  situation  which  pre- 
vailed at  the  time  when  Julius  Caesar  passed  off  the  scene 
and  his  nephew  Octavius,  known  later  as  Augustus  Caesar, 
took  the  reins  of  government  into  his  hands  and  began  to 
reign.  The  days  of  the  Roman  empire  had  come,  and 
Augustus  proved  to  be  the  man  of  the  hour. 

One  of  the  events  which  mark  his  reign  was  the  revival 
of  religion.  It  was  largely  his  own  work.  Augustus  rec- 
ognized that  without  religion  a  country  is  lost.  He  revived 
old  ceremonies,  filled  offices  which  had  been  unoccupied  for 
years,  rebuilt  temples,  and  in  every  way  sought  to  restore 
the  religion  to  its  old  place  of  power  in  the  life  of  the  people. 
He  brought  in  some  new  features,  the  most  remarkable  of 
which  was  Caesar-worship.  At  first  it  was  worship  of  the 
dead  rulers  of  the  past,  then  of  the  living  emperor  sitting  on 


I3o          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

the  throne  in  Rome.  It  was  not  called  exactly  by  that  name  ;> 
the  Romans  would  have  resented  such  a  bald  statement  as 
too  much  of  an  innovation.  The  proposal  was  to  worship 
the  "Genius"  of  the  emperor,  the  shadowy  counterpart  of  the 
living  man  which  was  more  or  less  spiritual  and  other- 
worldly. This  was  not  quite  so  much  a  shock  to  their  sensi- 
bilities, but  it  was  only  a  step  removed  from  the  actual  wor- 
ship of  the  emperor  himself.  This  became  the  one  universal 
form  of  religion  and  the  touchstone  of  loyalty  to  the  empire. 
By  their  refusal  to  perform  the  rites  connected  with  this 
worship  the  early  Christians  were  declared  treasonous  and 
were  thrown  to  the  lions. 

Now,  the  important  fact  to  keep  in  mind  is  that  emperor 
worship  was  an  importation.  The  old  Roman  might  hesi- 
tate at  such  a  step,  but  it  was  natural  and  easy  for  the  Asi- 
atic, and  the  introduction  of  the  strange  idea  is  an  evidence 
of  the  strength  of  the  influence  which  had  set  in  from  the 
eastern  sections  of  the  empire.  The  old  religion  had  ceased 
to  satisfy  the  desires  of  even  the  stern  old  Romans,  and  its 
place  was  being  taken  by  religions  which  came  trooping  in 
from  Asia  and  Africa.  We  have  already  mentioned  the 
coming  of  the  Great  Mother  of  the  Gods,  whose  home  had 
been  in  the  wild  mountains  of  Central  Asia  Minor.  King 
Attalus  presented  the  deputation  which  had  come  from  the 
Roman  senate  with  the  god  in  the  form  of  a  black  aerolite, 
and  this  was  taken  to  Rome,  received  with  due  ceremony — 
and  the  danger  from  Hannibal  was  averted.  But  who  was 
Cybele,  the  Mother  of  the  Gods,  thus  brought  to  Rome, 
so  far  from  her  original  home?  Attis  is  the  husband  of 
Cybele,  and  he  is  violently  killed.  She  mourns  him  with 
tumultuous  sorrow.  He  is  finally  raised  to  life  again  amid 
the  wildest  rejoicing.  Such  in  the  briefest  space  is  the 
myth  brought  with  the  goddess  to  Rome  in  B.  C.  205.  Her 
worship  in  Asia  Minor  was  an  imitation  of  the  acts  depicted 
in  the  myth,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  was  made  up  of 
wild  and  uncontrolled  orgies.  The  staid  Romans  were 


GREECE  AND   ROME  131 

shocked  at  these  displays  and  the  cult  had  a  checkered 
career  in  the  capital,  but  in  the  days  of  the  empire  it  won  its 
way  into  popular  favor  and  received  the  sanction  of  the 
government.  There  was  a  procession,  which  was  followed 
by  the  exercises  in  the  temple,  where  the  old  myth  was 
retold  and  reacted,  producing  "a  state  of  rapturous  ecstasy" 
which  swept  the  worshiper  off  his  feet  and  lifted  him  into 
union  with  the  deity.  As  Attis  died  and  was  raised  to  life 
again,  so  would  the  worshiper  be  sure  of  another  life.  Union 
with  the  god  was  sacramentally  achieved  by  the  bloody  tau- 
robolium.  A  man  would  stand  in  a  deep  trench  under  a 
grating  on  which  a  bull  was  killed,  and  the  blood  would 
pour  through  the  grating  over  the  head  and  body  of  the 
worshiper.  In  this  bath  he  believed  he  had  entered  into  a 
new  life  by  physical  contact  with  the  life-giving  blood.  The 
origin  of  the  rite  is  obscure,  but  it  doubtless  goes  back  to 
an  ancient  belief  that  one  could  physically  transfuse  the 
strength  of  the  animal  into  his  body,  and  then  later  the  whole 
thing  was  spiritualized  into  the  new  birth  of  the  soul. 

Already  the  reason  why  such  practices,  so  strange  to  old 
Roman  religion,  could  exercise  so  strong  an  influence  is 
evident.  There  was  an  emotional  appeal  which  was  irre- 
sistible. The  ancient  faith  had  no  message  when  men 
began  to  be  alive  to  new  desires  and  aspirations.  The  old 
religion  was  cold  and  prosaic;  these  religions  which  came 
out  of  the  East  made  an  appeal  to  the  senses,  were  full  of 
mystery,  and  were  exceeding  human  and  warm  in  sym- 
pathy. That  they  descended  to  the  level  of  the  sensual  at 
times  did  not  militate  against  their  success,  for  there  was 
so  much  more  which  the  old  religion  did  not  possess  that 
defects,  even  when  seen  as  such,  did  not  prevent  them  from 
being  acceptable.  They  were  religions  of  salvation,  of  re- 
wards and  punishment,  of  immortality,  and,  last  but  not 
least,  they  demanded  personal  allegiance  based  on  belief  in 
the  goodness  of  the  divinity. 

The  religion  of  Isis  and  Osiris  came  from  Egypt  and 


I32          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

gathered  a  large  popular  following,  despite  persecution  dur- 
ing its  earlier  days.  But  it,  too,  became  domesticated  and 
was  considered  a  legitimate  faith  by  the  state  as  well  as  the 
people.  Here,  again,  the  appeal  did  not  lie  in  its  system  of 
thought,  nor  in  its  morality,  which  was  exceedingly  ques- 
tionable, nor  even  in  its  doctrine  of  cleansing,  but  in  the 
intoxicating  seduction  of  the  ritual  and  the  promise  of  im- 
mortality. Again,  in  this  religion  there  was  a  story  told 
about  Isis  and  her  husband  Osiris,  who  was  killed  by  the 
evil-minded  Typhon.  Horus,  their  son,  would  wreak  venge- 
ance on  his  father's  murderer,  but  in  the  end  Osiris  is 
raised  to  a  new  life  and  Typhon  is  forgiven.  At  least  so 
runs  the  myth  in  one  of  its  many  forms.  But  in  them  all  is 
the  appeal  to  the  elemental  passions  of  love,  hate,  vengeance, 
and  forgiveness.  They  are  warm  with  human  interest  and 
sympathy  and  come  close  to  the  daily  life  of  men  and  women, 
and  this  the  old  religion  could  never  do. 

A  variety  of  beliefs  and  practices  came  in  from  Syria. 
The  most  famous  of  the  deities  was  Atargatis,  the  Dea 
Syria,  whose  worship  was  associated  with  dreadful  sensual- 
ity. It  could  not  help  but  work  harm,  yet  in  the  ancient 
world  there  was  real  confusion  between  the  impure  and  the 
sacred,  and  hence  greater  difficulty  in  seeing  clearly  what 
had  in  it  the  seeds  of  evil,  especially  in  religious  practice. 
From  Syria,  too,  came  astrology,  which  had  its  home  in 
Babylon,  as  we  have  seen,  and  which  now  entered  into  a 
new  phase  among  the  peoples  of  the  west.  But  of  all  these 
religions  that  of  Mithras  is  the  most  interesting  and  the 
most  important.  Coming  originally  out  of  Persia,  Mithras 
was  found  about  the  beginning  of  our  era  in  the  mountains 
of  Asia  Minor.  From  there  it  came  into  Rome  about  B.  C. 
70,  the  last  of  these  Oriental  faiths  to  reach  the  West.  But 
while  it  was  slow  in  starting  on  its  career  of  conquest,  it 
extended  farther  than  all  the  others  when  its  message  began 
to  be  known.  Carried  by  merchants  and  slaves,  but  espe- 
cially by  soldiers,  the  mithreums,  or  underground  chapels, 


GREECE  AND  ROME  133 

have  been  discovered  wherever  in  the  wide  expanses  of  the 
empire  the  Roman  legions  were  stationed.  There  was 
again  the  myth  of  how  Mithras  by  slaying  the  bull  brought 
life  and  plenty  to  the  world.  This  scene  is  depicted  on  all 
the  bas-reliefs  in  every  place  of  worship.  It  was  a  man's 
religion  and  made  surprising  moral  demands  upon  its  fol- 
lowers. This  at  once  raises  it  to  a  level  higher  than  that  of 
the  other  Eastern  cults.  Through  seven  grades  the  initi- 
ates were  led  until  they  had  attained  the  highest  level. 
Mithras  was  the  god  of  light  and  in  the  later  time  became 
identified  with  the  sun,  and  as  Sol  Invictus,  the  Invincible 
Sun,  was  the  last  embodiment  of  the  pagan  idea  of  deity, 
before  it  went  down  forever  in  the  brighter  light  of  another 
religion  from  the  East  which  was  to  supersede  them  all. 

Christianity,  then,  was  one  of  these  Eastern  faiths  which 
found  a  welcome  in  the  West  and  in  the  end  became  the 
religion  of  the  whole  empire.  It,  too,  had  a  story  to  tell, 
of  a  Saviour  who  was  crucified  and  who  rose  again  and  was 
seen  by  his  disciples.  It,  too,  touched  the  emotions,  and  held 
out  the  promise  of  immortality.  A  religion  from  the  East, 
and  in  some  respects  like  the  others,  Christianity,  however, 
rose  to  a  level  of  moral  sublimity  and  self-forgetful  service 
unattainable  by  Mithraism  or  the  religion  of  Isis  and  the 
Great  Mother.  And  as  compared  with  the  other  deities, 
even  Mithras,  the  Saviour  in  Christianity  has  the  advan- 
tage of  being  a  real  historical  character  and  of  exemplifying 
in  his  own  person  all  the  moral  excellencies  of  his  own 
doctrine. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

Greece: 

J.  H.  Breasted,  Ancient  Times  (New  York,  1916),  Part  III,  The 
Greeks. 

Arthur  Fairbanks,  Greek  Religion  (New  York,  1910).  A  compact 
but  complete  survey. 

L.  R.  Farnell,  Outline-History  of  Greek  Religion  (London,  1921). 
A  short,  comprehensive  survey  by  one  of  the  leading  authori- 
ties. 


134  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Gebrge  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions  (New  York,  1913),  Vol.  I, 
O»aps.  XVII-XX. 

Rome: 

J.  H.  Breasted,  Ancient  Times,  Parts  IV  and  V,  dealing  with  Rome 
and  the  Roman  empire. 

J.  B.  Carter,  The  Religion  of  Numa  (New  York,  1906).  A  short 
but  helpful  survey  of  the  ancient  religion. 

Franz  Cumont,  The  Oriental  Religions  in  Roman  Paganism  (Chi- 
cago, 1911).  The  best  account  of  the  influence  of  the  East. 

W.  Warde  Fowler,  The  Religious  Experience  of  the  Roman  People 
(London,  1911).  The  most  extended  survey  in  English  of  the 
religion  to  the  time  of  Augustus. 

George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  Vol.  I,  Chaps.  XXI,  XXII. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE   RELIGION   OF   ZOROASTER 

THE   INDO-EUROPEANS   AND   THEIR   RELIGION 

IN  the  study  of  the  religion  of  Zoroaster  we  make  the 
transition  from  the  religions  which  have  passed  away  and 
ceased  to  be  to  the  living  religions  of  mankind.  The  wor- 
shipers of  Ahura  Mazda  in  India  and  Persia  to-day,  small 
in  number  though  they  be,  are  the  descendants  of  those  to 
whom  the  prophet  Zoroaster  came,  and  are  proud  of  their 
history  and  unbroken  tradition.  The  Parsis  (a  name  de- 
rived from  "Persia")  in  India  are  an  exclusive  community 
of  about  a  hundred  thousand  souls,  who  have  in  recent  dec- 
ades prospered  greatly  and  have  become  the  best  educated 
and  most  progressive  group  in  the  whole  land.  So,  because 
of  their  long  and  honorable  history  and  their  present  position 
of  prominence  in  the  land  of  their  adoption,  it  is  altogether 
fitting  that  we  should  seek  to  understand  the  religion  which 
has  bound  them  together  so  closely.  Bristling  with  difficul- 
ties though  the  investigation  may  be,  the  student  finds  him- 
self lured  on  as  each  step  reveals,  particularly  in  the  earlier 
development,  glimpses  of  a  faith  with  such  a  lofty  concep- 
tion of  the  Divine  Being  and  such  uncompromising  insist- 
ence on  morality  that  he  realizes  he  is  dealing  with  one  of 
the  highest  religions  to  be  found  among  men.  But  before 
taking  it  up  directly  it  is  necessary  to  place  it  in  its  proper 
setting  as  one  of  the  religions  of  the  Indo-European  peoples. 

At  a  period  at  least  two  or  three  thousand  years  before 
Christ  there  roamed  on  the  grassy  plateaus  and  steppes 
either  east  or  west  of  the  Caspian  Sea — we  cannot  say  which 
— tribes  of  nomadic  peoples  seeking  pasturage  for  their 

135 


136  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

flocks  and  herds.  They  were  white  men,  speaking  a  com- 
mon language,  with  vivid  imaginations  and  boundless  en- 
ergy. For  some  reason — it  may  have  been  the  natural  in- 
crease of  population  which  tended  to  overcrowd  the  regions 
already  occupied — groups  of  these  restless  nomads  would 
start  off  to  find  a  more  congenial  home,  until  in  the  end 
they  were  scattered  far  to  the  east  and  south  and  west,  all 
the  distance  from  Ireland  and  Scotland,  in  the  cold  and 
misty  west,  to  the  plains  of  India,  under  a  blazing  tropical 
sun.  The  branch  which  we  know  as  the  Kelts  moved  west- 
ward at  an  early  date  and  pushed  far  to  the  west  into  the 
British  Isles  and  France  as  we  know  them  to-day.  They 
were  followed  by  the  Teutonic  peoples  to  whom  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  and  the  Scandinavians  belong,  and  these  in  turn  must 
have  been  urged  westward  by  the  Slavic  tribes  who  finally 
settled  in  central  and  eastern  Europe.  We  know  little  about 
their  movements  until  in  the  early  centuries  of  our  era  the 
Teutonic  peoples  burst  through  the  barriers  of  the  Roman 
empire  and  changed  the  whole  course  of  civilization.  Other 
branches  of  the  Indo-Europeans  also  pushed  westward  and 
southward  and  had  by  mingling  with  the  races  already  pres- 
ent formed  the  national  group  which  we  know  as  the  Greeks 
and  the  Latins,  or  Italic  people.  Even  more  obscure  are  the 
movements  of  still  other  branches  which  swarmed  into 
Asia  Minor,  whom  we  know  as  Hittites,  Phrygians,  Scyth- 
ians, and  Armenians. 

These  all  moved  toward  the  west.  Others,  however,  were 
led  to  take  a  different  direction.  They  moved  toward  the 
south  and  east  and  finally  found  a  permanent  home  for 
themselves  in  Persia  and  in  India.  This  double  branch  of 
the  original  stock  is  correctly  known  by  the  name  "Aryan," 
which  is  frequently  but  less  correctly  given  to  all  the  Indo- 
European  peoples.  These  Aryans  formed  one  more  or  less 
homogeneous  group  for  a  period  sufficiently  long  to  develop 
certain  peculiarities  which  belong  to  these  races,  but  which 
are  not  to  be  found  among  the  peoples  who  migrated  west- 


THE  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER          137 

ward.  We  do  not  know  when  it  occurred,  but  finally  the 
Aryans  divided  into  two  groups,  one  going  to  the  southwest 
and  finding  its  home  on  the  bleak,  wind-swept  plateau  of 
Persia,  and  the  other  going  to  the  southeast,  penetrating  the 
passes  of  the  mountain  barrier,  and  finally  settling  down  in 
the  plains  of  northern  India.  It  was  among  these  immi- 
grants into  Iran,  or  Persia,  that  Zoroaster  appeared  and 
preached  his  gospel  of  one  God  who  demanded  righteous- 
ness in  his  worshipers. 

In  the  days  when  all  the  Indo-European  peoples  lived  in 
more  or  less  close  connection  with  each  other  they  pos- 
sessed a  common  language,  a  common  culture,  and  a  com- 
mon religion.  As  they  separated  differences  began  to  appear, 
and  became  more  marked  as  the  centuries  passed,  but  cer- 
tain likenesses,  particularly  in  language,  were  not  oblit- 
erated and  are  used  to-day  to  show  the  kinship  between 
these  groups  who  in  so  many  ways  are  poles  apart  in  their 
thinking  and  in  their  customs. 

We  owe  much  to  Professor  Otto  Schrader  for  giving  (in 
an  extensive  article,  "Aryan  Religion,"  in  the  Encyclopaedia 
of  Religion  and  Ethics)  an  account  of  about  all  that  can 
be  gleaned  from  a  great  variety  of  sources  concerning  this 
early  religion.  It  had  two  phases,  the  worship  of  dead  an- 
cestors and  the  worship  of  the  "heavenly  ones."  Both 
burial  and  cremation  were  known  and  practiced,  burial 
being  supposed  to  have  preceded  cremation.  The  change 
indicated  a  different  viewpoint,  for,  while  burial  was  a 
means  of  continuing  the  connection  between  soul  and  body, 
cremation  was  intended  to  separate  the  soul  from  its  body  as 
soon  as  possible.  One  form  of  disposal  of  the  dead  did  not 
completely  displace  the  other,  and  we  have  no  means  of 
knowing  why  one  was  practiced  in  preference  to  the  other. 
But  whatever  might  be  the  means  used  of  disposing  of  their 
bodies,  the  dead  were  held  in  high  reverence  and  elaborate 
rites  were  practiced  in  their  memory.  Gifts  of  various  kinds 
were  made  to  the  dead  so  as  to  provide  them  with  what  they 


138          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

needed  in  the  other  world.  They  were  not  so  far  away,  and 
could  come  and  really,  though  invisibly,  share  in  the  feast 
which  was  spread  in  their  honor.  They  had  become  more 
powerful  in  the  other  world  and  yet  continued  to  be  vitally 
interested  in  all  the  concerns  of  the  family.  They  were 
appealed  to  for  help;  they  must  also  be  placated,  for  they 
were  looked  upon  as  even  more  severe  than  a  stern  parent 
and  quite  easily  angered.  So  urgent  was  the  demand  that 
the  good  things  of  this  life  be  provided  for  those  who  had 
passed  over  that  inhuman  cruelty  was  not  uncommonly 
exhibited.  Even  wives  and  slaves  were  sent  after  the  de- 
parted one  for  his  comfort,  and  for  a  young  man  who  had 
not  yet  been  married  and  had  met  an  untimely  death  a 
marriage  was  performed  with  a  young  woman,  who  was 
then  burned  or  buried  alive  with  the  corpse ! 

The  other  side  of  the  worship  was  that  of  the  "heavenly 
ones."  There  are  evidences  of  primitive  animism,  of  fetish- 
ism, and  of  the  higher  development  into  the  worship  of 
certain  great  powers  of  nature.  In  Professor  Schrader's 
words,  "The  worship  of  the  sky  and  the  powers  of  nature 
connected  with  it  formed  the  real  kernel  of  the  primitive 
Aryan  (Indo-European)  religion."  This  means  the  worship 
of  the  sun  and  moon,  fire,  wind,  and  water.  These  gods 
were  not  named ;  they  were  looked  upon  as  personal,  but  had 
not  been  fully  personified.  The  element  of  magic  is  quite 
evident  in  the  relations  of  the  worshipers  with  the  powers, 
but  genuine  religion  in  the  form  of  sacrifice  and  prayer  raises 
this  relationship  to  a  higher  level.  The  father  was  the  first 
priest,  but  it  was  not  long  before  a  priestly  class  began  to 
develop  and  take  charge  of  the  sacrifices.  Only  gradually 
were  the  greater  gods  personalized  and  moralized.  Until 
that  took  place  the  worship  of  ancestors  was  a  far  greater 
moral  force  than  the  more  sublime  worship  of  the  powers 
of  nature.  Unfortunately,  through  it  all  there  was  the 
somber  thread  of  fatalism,  which  permeated  life  with  a 
retarding  and  depressing  influence. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER          139 

Such  was  the  religion  of  our  forefathers  and  the  fore- 
fathers of  the  peoples  of  Europe  and  of  many  of  those  in 
Asia  Minor,  Persia,  and  India.  This  short  sketch  may  help 
us  to  understand  the  better  the  development  which  later 
took  place  and  also  the  present  tendencies  in  life  and  thought 
among  the  great  Indo-European  family  of  races  and  peoples. 

ZOROASTER  AND  His  REFORMATION 

While  those  who  were  to  settle  in  Persia  and  in  India 
were  still  together  they  developed  certain  common  features 
of  ritual  and  belief  which  remained  with  them  long  after 
they  became  separate  peoples.  They  came  to  believe  in  a 
number  of  gods  who  were  believed  in  by  both  in  later  times. 
Notable  among  them  was  Mithras  (Mitra  in  India),  who,  as 
we  have  seen,  traveled  west  and  found  his  last  home  in  the 
Roman  empire  in  the  last  days  of  paganism.  Fire  is  held  in 
high  reverence  to-day  by  the  Parsis,  and  harks  back  to  the 
worship  of  the  sacrificial  flame  by  the  early  Aryans.  They 
prepared  and  venerated  the  intoxicating  Haoma  (Soma  in 
India),  which  was  to  play  an  important  part  in  later  Indian 
religion.  The  cow  had  already  become  sacred  and  re- 
mained so  in  both  countries.  There  was  already  to  be 
found  an  injunction  to  "good  thoughts  and  good  works." 
and  a  priesthood  of  fire-kindlers,  who  were  influential  in 
the  religion  of  the  people.1  But  as  soon  as  the  people  sep- 
arated differences  of  a  very  fundamental  sort  began  to  de- 
velop. The  tendency  in  India  was  toward  speculation,  in 
Iran  toward  the  practical  and  ethical.  This  cleavage  goes 
very  deep  and  marks  a  difference  between  the  peoples  which 
can  scarcely  be  bridged  over.  We  are  in  different  worlds, 
surrounded  in  each  case  by  a  totally  different  atmosphere. 
In  India  we  of  the  West  feel  oppressed  by  the  pall  of 
pantheism  and  the  moral  inertia  which  everywhere  seem  to 
be  present,  but  in  Persia  in  the  days  of  Zoroaster  the  breezes 

*The  above  facts  taken  from  Professor  Eduard  Meyer,  article, 
"Persia,"  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  nth  edit. 


I4o  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

are  charged  with  moral  vigor  and  men  see  God  and  human 
life  and  sin  clear-eyed  and  enter  the  battle  of  life  intending 
to  defeat  evil  and  its  agents  and  come  out  more  than  victors 
in  the  contest. 

Unfortunately,  great  uncertainty  exists  relative  to  the 
Prophet  and  not  many  things  can  be  set  down  with  cer- 
tainty. When  he  lived  and  where  he  worked  are  still  sub- 
jects of  controversy.  The  traditional  dates  are  B.  C.  660 
for  his  birth  and  B.  C.  583  for  his  death.  And  when  such 
authorities  as  Professor  A.  V.  Williams  Jackson  and  Bishop 
L.  C.  Casartelli  are  convinced  that  these  dates  are  substan- 
tially correct  it  is  impossible  to  displace  them  hastily. 
We  need  only  state  here,  however,  that  other  competent  au- 
thorities feel  that  the  facts  demand  an  earlier  date,  some 
giving  B.  C.  1000  and  others  an  earlier  date  still.  It  would 
make  the  coincidence  even  more  striking  if  the  traditional 
dates  should  prove  to  be  correct,  for  that  would  bring  Zoro- 
aster into  the  same  century  with  the  Buddha,  Confucius, 
Pythagoras,  and  Jeremiah!  Zoroaster  was  a  real  historical 
character  despite  the  uncertainty  in  date  and  the  locality 
where  he  worked.  Professor  Jackson  has  carried  many 
others  with  him  in  his  belief  that  the  prophet  came  from  the 
northwest  of  what  is  now  Persia  and,  traveling  eastward, 
found  his  life  work  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  country. 
Here  he  preached,  and  finally  succeeded  in  converting  the 
king,  Vishtaspa,  to  his  doctrine.  An  intensely  practical  man, 
the  Prophet  preached  the  doctrine  of  work,  especially  the 
care  of  the  cattle  which  they  were  to  protect  from  the  wild 
Turanians  of  the  North.  There,  after  many  years  of  teach- 
ing, while  engaged  in  the"holy  wars"  in  defense  of  the  faith, 
he  was  killed  at  the  hand  of  an  enemy,  "a  Turanian  whose 
name  is  preserved  to  ill  renown." 

Zoroaster,  or  Zarathustra,  as  it  is  in  the  old  Persian,  must 
have  been  a  remarkable  character,  and,  if  he  had  been  fol- 
lowed by  a  succession  of  like-minded  men,  as  was  the  case 
among  the  Israelites,  might  have  produced  effects  as  wide- 


THE  RELIGION   OF  ZOROASTER          141 

reaching  as  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament.  But  this 
solitary  prophet  found  himself  proclaiming  a  message  little 
appreciated  by  the  men  of  his  time.  Unfortunately,  he  was 
not  concrete  and  simple  in  his  teaching,  as  was  Jesus,  and 
thus  failed  to  win  the  people  to  himself  and  his  doctrine.  He 
was  abstract  in  his  thinking  and  could  never  come  down  to 
the  level  of  his  hearers.  Despite  all  this  he  was  intent  on 
reaching  all  with  his  new  conceptions.  He  hated  nature 
worship  and  any  form  of  anthropomorphism.  God  to  him 
was  "high  and  lifted  up"  above  any  likeness  to  anything  in 
heaven  or  earth.  He  denounced  all  the  old  "heavenly  ones," 
calling  them  evil  powers  fit  only  to  be  destroyed  and  put 
away.  He  spared  none,  not  even  "Mithras  and  his  troops" ; 
they  were  all  to  be  banished.  Zoroaster's  god  is  Mazdah, 
or  Ahura  Mazda,  "the  wise,"  the  wisdom  in  question 
being  the  "knowledge  of  good  and  evil,"  or,  as  Professor 
James  Hope  Moulton  puts  it,  "The  unerring  instinct  that  can 
distinguish  between  Truth  and  Falsehood,  which  for  the 
prophet  were  the  most  vital  aspects  of  good  and  evil."1 
Here,  then,  lie  close  together  the  two  great  truths  which 
Zoroaster  would  introduce,  that  God  is  one,  and  that  he  is 
holy  and  irreconcilably  at  enmity  with  evil.  This  is  not  far 
distant,  surely,  from  the  teachings  of  the  Hebrew  prophets. 
So  much  is  fairly  clear,  but  the  difficulties  are  immediately 
forthcoming.  Of  the  various  parts  of  the  Avesta,  the  sacred 
bt)oks  of  the  Zoroastrians,  the  Gathas  are  undoubtedly  the 
work  of  the  prophet  himself.  They  are  exceedingly  difficult 
to  translate  and  to  understand.  From  beginning  to  end  they 
contain  statements  about  "six  highly  abstract  conceptions," 
known  as  Amesha  Spenta,  or  "undying  holy  ones."  They 
are  to  be  listed  as  follows : 

1.  Vohu  Manah,  Good  Thought. 

2.  Asha,  Right,  or  Divine,  Order. 

3.  Khshathra,  Dominion,  or  the  Excellent  Kingdom. 

'Early  Religious   Poetry  of   Persia,   p.   56.      (Cambridge   Univ. 
Press,  1911.) 


142  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

4.  Aramaiti,  Piety,  or  Holy  Character. 

5.  Haurvatat,  Health. 

6.  Ameretat,  Immortality. 

The  last  two  are  always  found  together  in  the  Gathas. 

Now,  what  are  these  Amesha  Spenta?  They  have  been 
called  "vassals,"  and  "archangels,"  who  help  Ahura  Mazda 
in  his  work  of  truth  and  righteousness.  But  Professor 
Moulton  is  so  profoundly  convinced  that  Zoroaster  was  a 
monotheist  that  he  prefers  another  explanation.  To  him 
they  are  not  outside  but  "within  the  Deity";  they  "share 
adoration  with  the  Deity,"  and  are  not  very  real  personifi- 
cations even  when  they  are  called  by  their  names  or 
titles.3 

Again  we  come  to  a  point  of  great  interest  and  of  real 
difficulty.  Zoroastrianism  is  usually  considered  a  dualistic 
system,  but  was  the  teaching  of  Zoroaster  himself  dualistic? 
Undoubtedly  in  Zoroaster's  mind  the  forces  of  righteousness 
and  the  forces  of  evil  are  engaged  in  an  irreconcilable  con- 
flict, which  can  only  be  ended  in  the  complete  victory  of 
what  is  true  and  noble  and  upright.  Even  more  than  this, 
he  holds  that  there  is  a  personal  spirit  of  evil,  Angra  Mainyu 
(Ahriman),  who  in  the  beginning  chose  evil  as  his  portion 
and  who  now  creates  evil  to  oppose  the  good  which  exists 
in  the  world.  This  being,  Angra  Mainyu,  is  the  negative 
counterpart  of  Spenta  Mainyu,  which  is  the  special  name  of 
Ahura  Mazda  as  creator.  So,  Spenta  Mainyu  and  Angra 
Mainyu  are  even  called  "twins,  inasmuch  as  they  do  not 
exist  independently,  but  each  in  relation  to  the  other;  they 
meet  in  the  higher  unity  of  Ahura  Mazda."*  It  is  very  easy 
to  see  how  a  thoroughgoing  dualism  can  be  attributed  to 
Zoroaster,  but  the  point  which  Professor  Moulton  insists  on 
time  and  again  is  "the  uniqueness  of  the  Creator  as  the  central 


*  See  Early  Religious  Poetry  of  Persia,  The  Treasure  of  the 
Magi,  and  Early  Zoroastrianism,  all  by  Professor  James  Hope 
Moulton. 

4  Moulton,  Early  Religious  Poetry  of  Persia,  p.  67. 


THE  RELIGION   OF  ZOROASTER          143 

feature  of  the  faith/"  Ethically  he  was  a  dualist,  as  every 
man  must  be  who  is  in  the  moral  battle  to  win,  but  at  the 
same  time  he  was  a  monotheist,  believing  in  Ahura  Mazda, 
the  sole  creator  and  sustainer  of  the  universe.  The  evidence 
is  not  altogether  clear,  but  this  would  seem  to  represent  the 
thought  of  Zoroaster  better  than  the  view  that  he  looked 
upon  the  personal  creator  of  evil  in  the  world  as  equal  and 
coordinate  with  the  creator  of  good. 

Let  us  be  thankful  for  the  testimony  thus  given  to  the 
rightful  place  of  morality  in  religion,  such  as  has  rarely 
been  surpassed.  To  have  coming  down  through  the  history 
of  religion  such  unfailing  emphasis  on  "good  thoughts,  good 
words,  good  deeds/'  is  to  raise  that  faith  and  its  founder  to 
an  eminent  position  among  the  world's  religions.  And,  as 
Professor  Moulton  has  said,  "It  is  a  tribute  to  national 
character  that  all  evil  should  be  summed  up  in  the  she-devil 
'Deceit.'  "  But  at  the  same  time  Zoroaster's  limitations  are 
most  evident.  He  was  a  stern  prophet,  unmellowed  by  any 
thought  of  God's  love  and  mercy.  These  names  are  not 
found  among  the  Amesha  Spenta,  the  personified  qualities  of 
the  god  he  worshiped.  The  final  victory  in  the  universe  will 
without  question  be  a  victory  of  the  good — this  is  an  essen- 
tial element  in  all  his  teaching.  His  paradise  is  ethical  and 
only  the  pure  in  heart  may  enter,  but  there  is  little  hope  for 
the  sinner.  He  must  cross  from  this  world  to  the  next  over 
"The  Bridge  of  the  Separator,"  which  was  "broad  for  the 
righteous,  narrow  as  a  razor  for  the  wicked,  who  fell  off  it 
into  hell."7  There  is  no  mediator  or  Saviour  or  helper.  A 
man  determines  his  own  destiny  and  as  he  is  wicked  or  good 
goes  to  hell  or  heaven  when  he  dies.  It  is  very  simple,  but 
very  hopeless.  Zoroastrianism  is  a  religion  of  strenuous 
moral  endeavor,  but  has  no  salvation  for  him  who  has  fallen 


"Early  Zoroastrianism,  p.   122.     (Williams  &  Norgate,  London, 
1913.) 

•  Early  Religious  Poetry  of  Persia,  p.  66, 
7  Op.  cit,  p.  71, 


144          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

by  the  way  and  yet  longs  for  the  good  and  the  true  and  the 
beautiful  which  he  has  failed  to  attain. 

DEVELOPMENT  SINCE  ZOROASTER 

We  do  not  know  what  might  have  occurred  had  a  suc- 
cession of  prophets  arisen  in  the  spirit  of  the  great  Zoroaster, 
but  there  were  none.  We  are  hampered  by  not  knowing 
the  condition  of  the  religion  during  the  reigns  of  the  Achae- 
menides,  who  ruled  Persia  from  B.  C.  558  to  331.  Tradition 
asserts  that  the  kings  were  confirmed  Zoroastrians,  but  of 
this  we  cannot  be  sure.  Not  until  the  time  of  the  Sassanids, 
who  ruled  from  A.  D.  226  to  641,  did  the  kingdom  settle 
down  again  and  the  land  have  rest.  These  centuries,  the 
period  of  the  "great  kings,"  were  glorious  days  for  the  reli- 
gion of  Zoroaster,  when  with  the  revival  of  the  faith  a  mis- 
sionary spirit  was  developed  and  the  teachings  of  the  prophet 
were  carried  to  regions  as  far  distant  as  China.  But  with 
all  this  it  was  not  the  pure  religion  of  its  founder  which  was 
heralded  far  and  wide.  It  did  not  take  long  for  polytheism 
to  find  its  way  back  when  there  was  no  longer  any  Zoro- 
aster to  keep  burning  the  flame  of  reforming  zeal. 

The  changes  which  were  introduced  into  the  religion  are 
accounted  for  by  Professor  Moulton,  in  large  measure  at 
least,  by  referring  them  to  the  Magi.  He  looks  upon  the 
Magi  as  an  indigenous  non-Aryan  tribe  who  lived  in  western 
Persia  and  who,  when  they  came  in  contact  with  the  Zoroas- 
trians, succeeded  in  winning  a  place  for  themselves  as  the 
priests  of  the  people.  Much  remains  to  be  investigated  in 
order  to  clear  up  the  uncertainties  still  adhering  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  earlier  periods,  but  we  do  know  that  the  Magi 
were  the  priests  and  exercised  control  over  the  faith  during 
the  later  centuries.  They  are  known  by  their  adherence  to 
astrology,  divination,  and  the  practice  of  magic,  which,  by 
the  way,  derives  its  name  from  them,  the  practices  of  the 
Magi  being  designated  as  magic.  All  this  was  alien  to  the 
spirit  of  the  master  and  indicates  a  serious  declension  from 


THE  RELIGION  OF  ZOROASTER          145 

the  high  level  of  his  teachings.  "They  hardened  the  proph- 
et's profound  adumbrations  of  truth  into  a  mechanical  sys- 
tem of  dogma,  therein  showing  the  usual  skill  of  priests  in 
preserving  the  letter  and  destroying  the  spirit."" 

These  men  carried  the  ethical  dualism  of  Zoroaster  back 
into  their  theology.  Instead  of  continuing  to  place  Ahura 
Mazda  over  the  whole  creation,  the  one  supreme  Lord  above 
all,  they  made  "a  systematic  division  of  the  world  between 
Ahura  Mazda  and  Angra  Mainyu."  All  the  angels  of  the 
one  had  counterparts,  who  were  demonic  ministers  of  the 
other.  Even  the  Amesha  Spenta,  who  had  become  arch- 
angels in  the  meantime,  had  their  corresponding  fiends  in  the 
realm  of  evil.  So  the  god  of  righteousness  and  the  god  of 
evil  divided  the  universe  between  them,  each  equally  power- 
ful and  each  having  had  his  part  in  the  original  creation  of 
the  world.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  even  on  this  theory 
at  the  end  Ahura  Mazda  was  to  be  completely  victorious 
over  Angra  Mainyu.  The  good  was  to  conquer  and  the  evil 
would  be  finally  overthrown.  Men  were  to  choose  which 
side  they  would  take  in  the  conflict,  and  so  the  ethical  note 
was  retained  intact.  But  the  keen  edge  of  Zoroaster's  moral 
insistence  was  dulled  by  the  laws  of  purity  as  found  in  the 
Vendidad,  the  priestly  code  of  the  religion.  The  dualism 
of  clean  and  unclean  was  carried  to  a  ridiculous  extreme, 
until  the  whole  of  life  was  dominated  by  ideas  of  ceremonial 
purity  and  cleanness.  The  moral  factor  was  swamped  un- 
der the  ceremonial.  The  elements  of  fire,  earth,  and  water 
were  considered  sacred,  and  many  rules  were  laid  down  to 
preserve  them  holy  and  uncontaminated.  The  religious  life 
was  reduced  in  large  measure  to  over-nice  refinements  and 
scrupulous  care  to  avoid  pollution. 

At  two  points  the  Magi  sought  to  introduce  practices 
which  were  utterly  strange  to  the  people.  In  one  they  suc- 
ceeded and  in  the  other  they  failed.  The  method  of  disposal 


Op.  cit,  p.  78. 


146  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

of  the  dead  among  the  Zoroastrians  is  to  place  the  bodies 
on  a  framework  of  iron  within  a  low  circular  tower  and 
there  allow  them  to  be  stripped  of  all  flesh  by  vultures  who 
await  with  avidity  the  uncovering  of  the  bodies  to  begin  their 
gruesome  work.  The  purpose  of  this  strange  custom  is  to 
avoid  the  pollution  of  the  earth  and  fire  either  by  burial  or 
cremation.  It  was  adopted  by  the  Zoroastrians  and  remains 
to  this  day  one  of  the  most  marked  peculiarities  of  their 
practice.  Wherever  there  is  a  Parsi  community  of  sufficient 
size  to  justify  their  presence  -these  Dakhmas,  or  "Towers  of 
Silence/'  are  to  be  found,  built  in  beautiful  groves  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  vultures,  ever  watchful  for  their  legitimate 
prey.  The  burial  of  the  bones  after  they  have  been  picked 
clean  is  not  supposed  to  pollute  the  earth  in  which  they  find 
their  resting  place.  The  other  practice  which  the  Magi  de- 
sired to  introduce  and  failed  in  doing  was  marriage  between 
the  closest  relatives.  This  was  considered  by  the  Magi  as 
"a  religious  duty  of  the  most  extravagant  sanctity."8  For- 
tunately, it  did  not  approve  itself  to  the  best  sense  of  the 
people  and  although  it  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Avesta, 
it  is  utterly  repudiated  by  the  modern  Parsis. 

The  statement  was  made  that  other  gods  besides  Ahura 
Mazda  were  reintroduced.  Zoroaster  came  into  a  land 
where  the  great  nature  gods  of  the  Aryans  were  worshiped. 
He  sought  in  his  reformation  to  banish  these  forever  as 
unworthy  of  man's  reverence,  but  upon  the  ascendency  in 
the  religion  of  men  who  had  not  risen  to  his  high  idealism 
back  they  came  again  and  found  a  place  in  the  hearts  and 
worship  of  the  people.  And  yet  even  here  Ahura  Mazda  is 
still  first  among  the  objects  of  worship.  And  never  from 
the  beginning  until  the  present  has  any  image  ever  been 
made  the  object  of  worship.  The  symbol  of  the  Supreme 
Deity  is  fire.  The  Zoroastrians  have  been  called  fire-wor- 
shipers, but  it  is  quite  certain  that  this  is  a  com- 

8  Op.  cit,  p.  77. 


THE  RELIGION   OF  ZOROASTER          147 

plete  misnomer.  The  fire  is  the  visible  emblem  or  symbol  of 
divinity  and  is  reverenced  so  highly  as  such  that  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  they  have  actually  been  called  fire- 
worshipers.  But  this  they  have  the  right  to  disclaim. 

In  the  Yashts,  or  "Songs  of  Praise"  of  the  later  Avesta, 
poems  are  dedicated  to  a  number  of  gods,  some  of  whose 
names  sound  quite  familiar:  "Mithra,  Anahita,  Tishtrya, 
Haoma,  and  the  Fravashis.""  Not  only  so,  but  in  places 
even  the  sublime  Ahura  Mazda  is  found  in  a  position  lower 
than  some  of  these  divinities,  and  even  offering  them  wor- 
ship. And  the  case  is  not  materially  helped  when  these  old 
gods  of  paganism  are  looked  upon  as  "angels."  A  name 
does  not  change  their  nature,  and  they  remain  pagan  still. 
As  the  idea  of  the  gods  declines  so  does  the  idea  of  prayer 
to  them.  Prayer  becomes  the  repetition  of  formulae  which 
possess  power  by  their  mere  repetition,  whether  the  words 
are  understood  by  the  worshiper  or  not.  The  old  religion 
with  its  pure  and  elevated  outlook  was  not  completely  lost 
by  the  incoming  of  these  alien  elements,  but  it  has  been  so 
encrusted  over  by  features  foreign  to  its  original  genius  that 
it  is  with  difficulty  that  the  modern  Parsi  is  able  to  disengage 
himself  from  the  accretions  and  return  to  the  conceptions 
and  practices  of  the  holy  prophet  he  so  enthusiastically 
venerates. 

THE  PARSIS  OF  THE  PRESENT  DAY 

On  December  10,  1916,  the  Parsis  celebrated  the  twelve 
hundredth  anniversary  of  their  landing  in  India.  The 
exact  date  and  the  detailed  circumstances  of  the  coming  of 
these  "Pilgrim  Fathers  of  Zoroastrianism"  may  be  more  or 
less  a  legend,  but  what  we  do  know  is  that  when  the  con- 
quering Islamic  armies  swept  over  Persia  and  most  of  the 
inhabitants  turned  Mohammedan,  a  group  of  faithful  men 
and  women  made  their  escape  from  the  country  and  settled 
in  India.  Not  all,  however,  did  so.  A  small  number  who 


The  Treasure  of  the  Magi,  p.  87.    (Oxford  Univ.  Press,  1917.) 


148  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

did  not  deny  the  faith  remained  in  Persia  and  have  retained 
their  identity  until  the  present  day.  Known  as  Gabars  and 
numbering  about  ten  thousand,  this  small  remnant  eke  out 
a  rather  unenviable  existence  in  Central  Persia.  Until  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  this  community  was  regarded 
by  the  Parsis  of  India  as  possessing  a  certain  authority  over 
them  in  view  of  their  residence  in  the  ancient  seat  of  their 
holy  faith,  but  even  this  acknowledgment  is  now  a  thing  of 
the  past  and  there  is  little  hope  of  any  future  for  these  up- 
holders of  the  ancient  traditions. 

But  even  the  main  body  of  Parsis  in  India  would  seem 
to  be  only  a  remnant,  the  memory  of  a  departed  glory.  The 
contrast  is  striking  between  a  proud  nation  whose  estab- 
lished religion  was  Zoroastrianism  and  the  little  community 
of  exiles  in  India  jealous  of  their  faith  and  guarding  it  care- 
fully against  compromise  with  any  other  religion.  The  total 
number  is  about  a  hundred  thousand,  one  half  of  whom 
make  their  home  in  Bombay.  The  others  are  scattered  in 
small  groups,  only  one  of  which  exceeds  five  thousand  souls, 
in  a  score  of  cities  throughout  India.  Not  only  is  the  com- 
munity small  but  it  is  exceedingly  clannish.  Contrary  to  the 
theory  which  prevailed  as  late  as  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
Parsis  are  now  opposed  to  any  extension  of  their  faith  to 
other  nations  or  among  the  alien  peoples  by  whom  they  are 
surrounded.  It  has  in  recent  years  been  a  subject  of  hot 
controversy  whether  the  foreign  wife  of  a  Parsi  might  be 
admitted  to  the  worship  in  the  Fire-temples  and  be  consid- 
ered one  with  them  in  the  faith.  The  decision  up  to  the 
present  has  been  against  even  so  slight  a  lowering  of  the 
bars.  What  is  to  become  of  such  a  small  and  exclusive  com- 
pany of  people  is  a  question  they  are  being  compelled  to  ask 
ever  more  seriously.  The  danger  of  inbreeding  faces  them, 
and  the  postponement  of  the  age  of  marriage,  which  has 
come  with  their  contact  with  the  west  and  the  more  strenu- 
ous conditions  of  modern  life,  bodes  ill  for  the  permanence 
of  a  community  which  has  taken  so  exclusive  an  attitude. 


THE  RELIGION   OF  ZOROASTER          149 

The  priesthood  in  Zoroastrianism  is  very  important.  The 
Mobeds,  as  the  priests  of  the  fire-temples  are  called,  are 
essential  to  the  conduct  of  the  ceremonial  and  the  upkeep  of 
the  sacred  fire.  The  order  of  priests  is  hereditary,  and  at 
their  head  in  connection  with  each  great  temple  is  the  high 
priest,  or  Dastur.  Unfortunately,  the  priesthood  in  general 
is  not  worthy  of  the  community  in  education  and  intelligence. 
There  are  some  learned  priests,  but  most  of  them  are  incap- 
able of  the  leadership  the  people  have  a  right  to  expect. 
The  very  training  which  the  neophytes  must  undergo  is  not 
calculated  to  fit  them  for  understanding  and  dealing  with  the 
difficult  problems  of  the  present  day.  They  must  be  able  to 
repeat  from  memory  the  whole  of  the  Yasna,  the  oldest  and 
most  important  part  of  the  Avesta,  but  in  a  language  which 
they  do  not  understand.  Is  there  any  wonder  the  priesthood 
as  a  profession  has  little  appeal  to-day  for  young  men  who 
may  be  in  line  for  the  office,  but  can  feel  no  incentive  to  such 
a  career? 

The  most  important  function  they  are  called  upon  to  per- 
form is  the  care  of  the  fire  in  the  temples.  This  is  the  very 
center  of  the  cult,  and  most  elaborate  are  the  precautions 
taken  that  the  purity  of  the  flame  may  not  be  endangered. 
Only  Parsis  are  allowed  entrance  into  the  inner  precincts  of 
the  temple,  where  the  urn  containing  the  fire  stands  upon  a 
stone  pedestal.  "Religious  Parsis  visit  the  Fire-temple 
almost  daily,  and  on  four  days  of  each  month,  those  sacred 
to  Atar  (3d,  Qth,  I7th,  and  2Oth),  there  is  a  very  large 
attendance.  There  is  no  distinction  between  men  and  women 
in  their  form  or  place  of  worship.  Arrived  at  the  temple, 
the  worshiper  washes  the  uncovered  parts,  and  recites  the 
Kusti  prayer.  Then  he  passes  through  the  outer  hall,  goes 
barefoot  through  the  inner  hall  to  the  threshold  of  the  room 
where  the  Fire  burns,  and  recites  prayers  standing.  Only 
the  priest  is  in  the  room  itself.  He  receives  from  the  wor- 
shiper sandalwood  and  a  piece  of  money,  and  brings  him 
ashes  from  the  urn  in  a  ladle,  which  he  applies  to  his  fore- 


150  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

head  and  eyelashes.  After  his  prayers  he  retires  backward 
to  the  place  where  he  left  his  shoes,  and  goes  home."" 

Besides  the  fire-temple,  which  is  for  the  living,  each 
Parsi  community  must  have  a  Dakhma,  one  of  the  Towers 
of  Silence,  for  the  disposal  of  the  dead.  Since  vultures  are 
so  essential  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  ritual,  it  can  readily 
be  seen  that  the  community  must  be  of  some  size  to  be  able 
to  dispose  of  their  dead  in  this  fashion  without  taking  the 
body  to  another  and  larger  settlement  of  their  fellow-reli- 
gionists. In  all  there  are  about  sixty  of  these  towers,  mostly 
of  course  in  western  India.  The  ideas  of  purity  and  im- 
purity held  by  the  Parsis  come  to  a  climax  in  their  ideas  of 
the  impurity  connected  with  death.  The  ceremonial  is  care- 
fully planned  to  obviate  the  pollution  which  would  otherwise 
adhere  to  anything  connected  with  the  last  rites.  The  pro- 
fessional corpse-bearers  are  a  class  set  apart  from  their 
fellows  because  of  the  contamination  they  are  unable  to  avoid 
and  which  they  cannot  completely  rid  themselves  of  despite 
frequent  ablutions.  And  so  from  the  time  of  death  until 
the  vultures  have  done  their  work  a  constant  watchfulness 
is  maintained  through  a  long  series  of  ceremonials  to  ward 
off  the  dangerous  influences  which  are  now  hovering  so  near. 
Not  only  so,  but  frequently,  especially  at  such  times  as  initi- 
ation into  the  community  on  the  part  of  the  young,  marriage, 
and  the  birth  of  children,  elaborate  ceremonies,  largely  mag- 
ical in  nature,  are  performed.  With  all  the  intelligence  now 
to  be  found  among  the  Parsis  these  ceremonies,  many  of 
them  extravagant  and  exceedingly  puerile,  have  not  lost  their 
hold.  They  are  still  bound  down  by  a  tradition  from  which 
many  would  be  free. 

In  addition  to  the  handicap  of  small  and  even  dwindling 
numbers  the  Parsi  community  is  rent  by  serious  disagree- 
ment in  belief.  There  are  the  conservatives,  who  are  vigor- 
ously opposed  to  any  change  and  would  have  everything 
remain  as  it  is  now.  At  the  other  extreme  are  the  radicals, 
Moulton,  op.  cit.,  p.  145. 


THE  RELIGION   OF  ZOROASTER          151 

who  are  anxious  for  the  future  and  can  see  no  hope  unless 
drastic  reforms  are  introduced.  And  between  the  two  are 
all  varieties  of  opinion  both  liberal  and  conservative.  There 
is  the  tendency  to  rationalize  the  faith.  When  this  has  been 
done  with  vigor,  as  by  Mr.  H.  T.  Bhabha,  the  president  of 
the  Fourth  Zoroastrian  Conference,  held  in  1913,  the  result, 
put  in  his  own  words,  is  as  follows :  "It  is  singularly  free 
from  dogmas,  and  is  so  simple  in  its  tenets  that  it  differs  but 
little  from  Unitarianism  or  Rationalism."12  These  more  rad- 
ical reformers  are  not  adverse  to  the  admission  of  converts, 
but  even  they  want  only  a  few.  They  are  afraid  of  being 
swamped  by  the  admission  of  those  of  another  race  who 
cannot  share  their  hereditary  pride  and  cannot  be  counted 
on  to  uphold  unswervingly  the  ancient  and  distinctive  tradi- 
tions of  the  community.  The  reformers  also  have  in  their 
program  the  use  of  prayers  in  a  living  language,  the  abolition 
of  meaningless  ceremonials  and  of  prayers  for  the  dead,  and 
the  mitigation  of  certain  ceremonial  restrictions  placed  on 
women,  particularly  at  childbirth.  One  other  tendency  is  at 
work  and  this  in  the  direction  of  theosophy.  Dabbling  in 
the  occult  and  reaching  out  after  contacts  with  the  spirit- 
world  have  affected  the  Parsis  as  similar  gropings  do  in  the 
West,  in  disintegrating  interest  in  genuine  religion  and  mag- 
nifying the  importance  of  the  physical  in  the  attempt  to 
reach  the  spiritual. 

But,  after  all,  we  cannot  wonder  that  there  should  be  a 
sense  of  want  and  need  among  the  Parsis.  Their  religion 
at  best  lacks  completeness;  there  is  no  adequate  doctrine  of 
salvation.  A  leading  Parsi,  Doctor  Jivanji  Modi,  says,  "A 
Parsee  has  to  believe  that  for  the  salvation  of  his  soul  he 
has  to  look  to  nobody  else,  but  to  himself.  Nobody — no 
priest,  or  no  prophet — will  intercede  for  him.  For  his  salva- 
tion he  has  only  to  look  to  the  purity  of  his  own  thoughts, 
words,  and  actions.  .  .  .  Think  of  nothing  but  the  truth, 
speak  nothing  but  the  truth,  and  do  nothing  but  what  is 

12  Quoted  in  The  Treasure  of  the  Magi,  p.  174. 


152  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

proper,  and  you  are  saved."1'  A  stern  religion  with  a  high 
moral  code  and  the  example  of  a  most  vigorous  champion 
of  righteousness  in  their  great  prophet,  it  has  failed  to  pro- 
vide for  mercy  and  sacrifice,  tenderness  and  love,  and  by 
this  failure  has  made  it  impossible  for  it  to  be  a  religion  with 
an  appeal  to  a  world  lying  in  need  not  only  of  a  noble  ideal 
but  of  grace  and  forgiveness. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

J.  H.  Breasted,  Ancient  Times  (New  York,  1916),  Chap.  VI. 
James  Hope  Moulton,  The  Treasure  of  the  Magi  (London,  1917). 

The  best  handbook  on  the  entire  subject. 
A.  V.  Williams  Jackson,  Zoroaster,  the  Prophet  of  Ancient  Iran 

(New  York,   1901).     All  that  is  known  about  the  prophet  is 

found  here. 
George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  Vol.  I,  Chaps.  XV,  XVI. 


Quoted  in  The  Treasure  of  the  Magi,  p.  2osf . 


CHAPTER  VI 
HINDUISM 

THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  VEDAS 

ONE  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Aryan  offshoot  of  the 
Indo-European  peoples  migrated,  as  we  have  seen,  into 
Persia.  The  other,  traveling  southeastward,  found  the 
passes  leading  through  the  great  mountain  barrier  and 
emerged  on  the  plains  of  northern  India.  In  all  probability 
they  did  not  come  at  any  one  time,  but  straggled  into  the 
new  country  in  smaller  or  larger  groups  during  hundreds 
of  years.  Some  would  say  that  they  were  still  arriving 
about  B.  C.  1500,  while  others  would  place  their  arrival 
much  earlier,  even  B.  C.  2000  or  2500.  Coming  down  into 
northern  India,  these  Aryans  spread  out  fanlike  over  the 
Punjab,  or  region  of  the  "five  rivers,"  and  then,  as  the 
years  passed,  slowly  extended  their  settlements  to  the  south 
and  east,  taking  possession  of  the  rich  Ganges  Valley  as  they 
advanced.  A  picture  of  these  "tall,  fair  people"  is  given  by 
J.  N.  Farquhar:  "They  were  then  soldier- farmers,  equally 
used  to  the  plow  and  the  sword.  They  were  constantly  at 
war  with  the  aborigines  around  them;  and  they  looked 
eagerly  for  sunshine  and  rain  to  mature  their  crops  and 
give  them  fodder  for  their  cattle  and  herds.  They  were 
still  a  primitive  people,  living  in  simple  villages,  with  but 
few  of  the  arts  of  civilization,  and  untrammeled  by  the 
bonds  of  caste.  They  had  no  writing  and  no  coinage.  They 
ate  beef  and  drank  intoxicating  drink.  The  tribes  lived 
each  under  its  own  chieftain,  and  now  and  then  quarrels 
led  to  war  among  them.  The  family  was  still  in  a  healthy 
condition.  Their  women  had  a  great  deal  of  freedom 
throughout  their  lives.  There  was  no  child-marriage 

153 


154  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

among  them,  no  seclusion  in  the  zenana,  no  widow- 
burning,  and  no  law  against  the  remarriage  of  widows.  Like 
most  primitive  peoples,  they  practiced  the  exposure  of  girl 
children  and  old  people."1 

They  brought  with  them  a  religion  in  many  features  sim- 
ilar to  that  of  the  Persians  when  Zoroaster  inaugurated  his 
reformation.  Our  knowledge  of  their  beliefs  and  practices 
is  based  on  a  collection  of  hymns  known  as  the  Rigveda. 
These  hymns,  or  "praises,"  were  composed  during  a  long 
period  and  were  committed  to  memory  for  use  at  the  sac- 
rifices. There  were  over  a  thousand  of  them,  which  were 
finally  written  down  in  Sanskrit  and  preserved  as  a  single 
collection.  In  some  ways  this  collection  is  the  most  remark- 
able body  of  religious  literature  which  has  come  down  out 
of  the  far  distant  past.  All  the  gods  whose  praises  are  sung 
are  nature  deities,  divided  into  three  groups  with  eleven 
gods  in  each  group.  They  are  the  gods  of  the  celestial 
regions,  those  of  the  earth,  and  those  of  the  atmosphere 
between  earth  and  sky.  Of  the  gods  of  the  high  heavens 
three  may  be  mentioned:  Mitra,  who  as  Mithras  we  have 
met  in  Persia  and  in" the  last  stages  of  Roman  paganism; 
Vishnu,  who  in  a  later  day  assumed  an  importance  in  Indian 
religion  which  he  had  not  known  in  the  earlier  period ;  and 
finally  the  great  god  Varuna.  According  to  Barth,  "Varuna 
is  the  god  of  the  vast  luminous  heavens,  viewed  as  embrac- 
ing all  things,  and  as  the  primary  source  of  all  life  and  every 
blessing/'2  The  possibilities  lying  in  the  conception  of  this 
god  might  have  raised  Hinduism  to  a  far  nobler  level  than 
has  been  attained.  Varuna  was  not  only  sublime  in  his 
majesty  and  power,  but  was  the  judge  of  men's  hearts  and 
the  exemplar  of  nobility  and  truth  and"  uprightness,  who 
expected  the  same  of  the  beings  under  his  sway.  But,  most 
unfortunately,  these  possibilities  were  not  realized  and  Hin- 


*A  Primer  of  Hinduism,  p.  2if.     (Oxford  Univ.  Press,  2nd  edit, 
1912.) 
1  The  Religions  of  India,  p.  16.    (Triibner,  London,  1906.) 


HINDUISM  155 

duism  suffers  to-day  because  Varuna  has  been  virtually  dis- 
carded and  other  gods  representative  of  far  different  ideals 
fill  the  minds  and  dominate  the  lives  of  its  adherents. 

There  were  three  important  gods  of  the  earth,  namely, 
Agni,  Soma,  and  Yama.  Agni  is  fire,  that  of  the  lightning 
and  the  sun  as  well  as  that  we  make  use  of  every  day.  As 
the  flame  ascends  and  seems  to  be  traveling  toward  the 
purified  abode  of  the  gods  fire  was  early  looked  upon  as  a 
priest  conveying  sacrifices  to  the  gods.  Many  high  func- 
tions in  human  life  and  even  in  creation  have  devolved 
upon  this  god,  but  in  all  the  various  forms  of  service  to 
which  he  has  been  assigned  Agni  has  always  remained  just 
the  material  fire  with  which  we  are  familiar.  Soma  is  the 
name  of  an  Indian  plant,  now  unknown,  and  the  fermented 
juice  which  was  extracted  from  it.  It  is  intoxicating  and 
therefore  divine,  thought  these  early  Aryans.  They  were 
possessed  of  a  spirit  not  their  own  when  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Soma,  and  their  only  explanation  was  that  it 
must  come  from  the  gods.  Here  is  suggested  to  us  the 
origin  of  our  term  "ardent  spirits,"  which  literally  take  pos- 
session of  the  man  who  has  imbibed  freely.  But  Soma  also 
has  a  celestial  reference  and  is  supposed  to  flow  in  the  invis- 
ible world  as  well  as  on  the  earth.  The  gods  themselves 
attained  immortality  by  drinking  the  Soma,  and  so  will  men 
when  they  drink  the  life-giving  potion  with  Yama  in  the 
land  of  the  blessed.  Again  here,  as  in  the  case  of  Agni,  the 
physical  character  of  the  god  is  never  lost.  Soma  remains 
until  the  end,  and  in  spite  of  the  idealizing  process,  the  juice 
of  the  soma  plant.  Yama  might  have  lived  an  immortal, 
but  he  chose  to  die.  He  thus  was  the  first  to  cross  the 
dreaded  flood  from  which  none  return.  The  dead  who  have 
lived  nobly  go  to  him.  Not  much  is  said  about  the  wicked, 
who  perish  or  continue  to  exist  "in  dark  and  dismal  pits" 
with  demons  and  other  evil  spirits. 

Of  the  eleven  gods  of  the  enveloping  atmosphere  Indra 
only  need  be  mentioned.  Of  all  the  gods  of  the  Rigveda 


156          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Indra  takes  first  place  as  the  national  god  of  the  Aryans. 
He  is  the  "king  of  heaven,"  the  warrior  who  gives  victory 
to  his  people,  and  at  the  same  time  he  is  the  giver  of  good 
and  the  author  and  preserver  of  life.  Indra  not  only  fights 
with  the  people  when  they  are  engaged  in  war,  but  fights 
for  them  with  his  faithful  companions,  the  Maruts,  the 
"bright  ones,"  the  gods  of  storm  and  lightning.  Intoxicated 
with  Soma,  he  rides  among  the  clouds,  striking  his  enemies 
with  thunderbolts.  When  it  is  remembered  that  it  is  to  the 
atmosphere  the  people  of  India  must  look  not  only  for 
prosperity  but  for  life  itself,  it  can  be  seen  quite  readily  how 
Indra,  the  god  who  defeats  the  enemies  who  would  prevent 
the  breaking  of  the  monsoon  with  its  copious  rains,  would 
be  lifted  up  and  idealized  until  he  became  their  great  cham- 
pion and  protector. 

When  one  reads  the  hymns  of  the  Rigveda  he  is  confused 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  qualities  of  one  god  are  as- 
cribed to  another  so  that  the  lines  of  demarcation  between 
them  become  hazy  and  indistinct.  This  tendency  to  fuse 
and  assimilate  the  gods  and  their  functions  was  the  begin- 
ning of  a  long  process  which  continued  until  it  led  into  the 
pantheism  which  is  so  characteristic  a  feature  of  later 
Indian  thought.  The  Indian  mind  even  at  this  early  date 
was  beginning  to  feel  out  after  a  unity  in  which  there 
should  be  no  distinctions,  and,  though  the  fully  developed 
theory  was  not  completed  for  many  centuries,  the  tendency 
begins  to  make  itself  evident  almost  from  the  beginning. 
One  is  also  struck  in  these  hymns  by  the  ascriptions  of 
praise  to  one  and  then  another  of  these  divine  beings,  just 
as  if  each  god  were  the  sole  god  of  the  universe.  Many 
gods  are  worshiped,  but  each  in  an  exclusive  manner.  The 
theology  oscillates  between  polytheism  and  an  approach 
toward  monotheism.  Professor  Max  Miiller  called  it  Ka- 
thenotheism,  the  worship  of  "one  god  at  a  time."  The 
worshiper  seemed  a  bit  uneasy.  He  had  inherited  many 
gods,  with  various  functions,  to  provide  him  with  requisite 


HINDUISM  157 

care  and  protection,  but  he  was  not  satisfied.  The  desire 
for  unity  was  already  present,  making  the  worship  of  a 
variety  of  gods  seem  incongruous.  With  this  beginning  and 
by  a  very  natural  process  among  so  thoughtful  a  people  as 
these  Aryans  the  conception  would  change  and  develop 
until  all  the  gods  came  to  be  looked  upon  as  manifestations 
only,  manifestations  of  a  primal  essence  behind  and  in- 
clusive of  them  all.  We  have  anticipated  somewhat,  but 
have  done  so  in  order  to  call  attention  thus  early  to 
the  tendency  which  can  only  be  understood,  it  is  true,  by 
following  the  development  to  its  final  issue,  but  which 
begins  to  betray  itself  in  the  earliest  movements  of  Indian 
thought. 

The  worship  of  the  gods  was  largely  sacrificial.  Animals 
were  offered  in  increasing  numbers  as  the  centuries  passed 
until  the  land  ran  red  with  blood  by  the  time  Buddhism  rose 
in  the  sixth  and  fifth  centuries  before  our  era.  There  were 
also  elaborate  rites  connected  with  the  offering  of  the  soma 
and  of  ghi,  or  clarified  butter.  There  were  no  temples  and 
no  images  in  the  early  day,  the  worship  being  conducted  in 
the  open  air.  Priests  were  in  evidence  very  early,  but  as 
the  sacrifices  became  more  elaborate  they  increased  their 
hold  until  in  the  end  no  bondage  can  compare  with  that  in 
which  the  people  of  India  are  held  by  their  spiritual  leaders. 
The  theory  was  very  simple.  Sacrifice  was  looked  upon  as 
absolutely  necessary,  and  the  efficacy  of  the  sacrifice  de- 
pended, not  upon  moral*  fitness,  nor  even  upon  the  sincerity 
of  the  worshiper,  but  upon  the  correctness  with  which  the 
ritual  of  the  sacrifice  was  performed.  This  was  believed  im- 
plicitly by  all  the  people  high  and  low.  In  the  earliest  day  the 
father  was  the  priest  of  his  family,  but  as  the  theory  of 
sacrifice  developed  it  became  increasingly  difficult  for  him 
to  find  time  to  master  the  ritual  on  which  the  fortunes  of 
the  family  depended.  The  priest  took  his  place  and  per- 
formed the  ceremonies  for  him.  They  made  themselves 
experts  in  religion,  masters  of  ceremony  and  ritual,  and 


158  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

thus  became  indispensable  to  the  people.  Nothing  could 
be  done  without  them.  They  dominated  life  and  exercised 
their  sway  with  ever-increasing  severity.  These  Brahmins, 
as  they  were  called,  came  to  occupy  a  unique  position,  wield- 
ing the  mightiest  power  in  the  land.  Jealous  of  their  posi- 
tion, they  separated  themselves  more  and  more  from  the 
other  classes  and  gave  it  out  that  they  were  superior  beings, 
veritable  gods  on  earth. 

The  theory  of  the  efficacy  of  sacrifice  was  carried  so  far 
that  sacrifice  was  looked  upon  as  irresistible.  Thus  the 
whole  system  became  impregnated  with  magic.  The  sacri- 
fice became  more  important  than  the  being  to  whom  it  was 
offered.  The  carrying  out  of  the  ritual  with  minute  exact- 
ness would  bring  about  the  desired  end  with  little  reference 
to  the  will  of  the  god  who  was  addressed.  This  did  not 
tend  to  exalt  the  gods,  but  it  did  result  in  further  enhancing 
the  authority  of  the  divine  priesthood  which  could  perform 
such  wonders.  It  was  even  said  that  the  gods  themselves 
had  attained  their  present  position  by  sacrifice,  and  so  it 
followed  that  it  was  not  beyond  the  range  of  possibility  for 
mortal  men  now  to  reach  the  same  goal.  And  in  India 
theories  do  not  remain  mere  theories,  but  are  put  into  action, 
and  men  give  themselves  to  all  forms  of  religious  prac- 
tices and  austerities  in  order  to  attain  divinity  at  the  end 
of  their  self-imposed  regimen. 

We  have  referred  to  the  Rigveda  as  the  earliest  literary 
product  of  the  Indian  mind,  but  it  was  only  the  beginning. 
Even  before  the  rise  of  Buddhism  the  literature  had  grown 
considerably.  In  addition  to  the  Rigveda  is  the  Samaveda, 
an  arrangement  of  verses  from  the  Rigveda  for  use  at  the 
Soma  sacrifice,  the  Yajurveda,  a  double  collection  of  prose 
selections  and  verses  from  the  Rigveda  for  use  in  the  ritual, 
and,  finally,  at  a  much  later  date,  the  Atharvaveda,  a  collec- 
tion of  magical  formulae.  By  this  time  the  heights  of  the 
Rigveda  had  been  left  far  behind  and  lower  conceptions 
were  filling  the  minds  of  priests  and  people.  In  addition  to 


HINDUISM  159 

all  these  and  appended  to  the  Vedas  were  priestly  writings 
called  the  Brahmanas,  which  purport  to  give  the  inner  mean- 
ing of  the  sacrifices  and  to  direct  the  priests  in  their  per- 
formance, but  which  are  an  arid  waste  of  irrational  theo- 
rizing with  no  inspiration  or  uplift  about  them. 

THE  PHILOSOPHIC  DEVELOPMENT 

When  the  Aryans  came  into  India  they  possessed  no 
belief  in  the  doctrine  of  transmigration,  yet  it  is  one  of  the 
basic  doctrines  among  Hindus  to-day.  Where  did  they  get 
it?  The  subject  is  obscure,  but  probably  the  idea  was  sug- 
gested by  their  contact  with  the  aboriginal  population  into 
the  midst  of  whom  they  were  thrown.  While  the  Aryans 
came  more  and  more  to  dominate  the  religious  life  of  the 
country  of  their  adoption,  they  unconsciously  absorbed 
many  of  the  ideas  of  the  primitive  Dravidians.  One  of 
these  was  probably  transmigration.  The  theory  is  that 
when  a  man  dies  his  soul,  or  his  essence,  leaves  the  dying 
body  and  enters  the  body  of  some  animal  or  human  being 
as  it  comes  into  the  world  to  begin  its  career.  And  the 
process  may  be  repeated  generation  after  generation  times 
without  number. 

While  the  theory  doubtless  came  to  the  Aryan  invaders  in 
a  very  crude  form,  the  keen  minds  of  the  thinkers  among 
them  would  not  allow  it  to  rest,  but  worked  it  out  to  its 
logical  conclusion  and  .made  it  a  part  of  their  growing 
philosophical  system.  The  law  which  determined  the  opera- 
tion of  transmigration  was  the  law  of  Karma.  Now, 
Karma  means  "action"  or  "deed,"  but  it  refers  to  such 
actions  or  deeds  in  one  life  as  work  out  their  results  in  the 
next  life  and  the  next  and  so  on  until  their  force  has  been 
entirely  spent.  According  to  our  Karma,  we  are  born  into 
a  new  life  well  or  strong,  good  or  bad,  rich  or  poor.  It  is  a 
kind  of  retribution  working  itself  out  automatically  and 
inevitably  in  existence  after  existence.  There  is  absolutely 
no  escape  from  the  clutches  of  this  inexorable  law.  All  we 


i6o          THE  RELIGIONS  OF   MANKIND 

can  hope  for  is  not  to  add  to  our  Karma,  so  that  when  what 
we  have  inherited  is  finally  exhausted  there  will  be  no 
more  fuel  to  keep  the  fire  burning.  The  fuel  consists  of 
deeds — any  deeds,  good  or  bad — which  stimulate  life.  To 
live  then — just  to  live,  whether  nobly  or  dishonorably,  it 
makes  little  difference — is  an  evil  with  a  most  unfortunate 
entail  for  the  future.  If  we  might  only  cease  from  doing 
deeds,  from  any  activity,  and  simply  exist  with  no  attach- 
ments to  life,  we  would  be  on  the  way  to  emancipation. 
But  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  and  cannot  even  be  begun 
without  devoting  one's  whole  mind  to  that  end.  The  ascetic 
who  gives  himself  to  various  kinds  of  cruel  austerities  and 
would  thereby  cut  the  cords  of  desire  which  bind  him  fast 
to  life  and  its  joys  and  sorrows,  is  on  the  highway  of  salva- 
tion and  at  some  time,  it  may  be  millenniums  ahead,  will 
have  exhausted  his  Karma  and  be  thus  set  free  from  the 
necessity  of  further  transmigrations. 

While  all  this  was  being  developed  and  was  becoming  the 
common  property  of  the  Aryan  community  in  India,  an- 
other and  deeper  movement  was  in  progress.  Certain  men 
of  intelligence  and  deep  earnestness,  dissatisfied  with  the 
current  explanations  and  the  crude  materialism  of  the  sac- 
rificial system,  made  the  attempt  to  penetrate  deeper  into 
the  meaning  of  life  and  its  problems,  and  in  the  end  arrived 
at  astonishing  conclusions.  Appended  to  the  Brahmanas 
are  to  be  found  a  group  of  writings  called  Aranyakas,  or 
teachings  "belonging  to  the  forest."  They  were  written  by 
men  who,  leaving  the  society  of  ordinary  men  and  women, 
went  off  into  the  forest  and  gave  themselves  to  meditation 
and  austerities.  The  results  of  their  thinking  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Upanishads,  which  are  embedded  in  the  Aran- 
yakas and  are  sometimes  a  little  difficult  to  distinguish  from 
them.  These  philosophical  writings  embody  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  Hindu  thinking  even  down  to  the  pres- 
ent day. 

The  creed  which  these  early  philosophers  evolved  was  very 


HINDUISM  161 

simple.  There  is  but  one  Being  in  all  the  universe ;  in  fact, 
this  Being  is  the  Universe. '  Here  is  real  unity,  and  that  is 
what  these  thinkers  were  trying  to  find.  It  is  pantheism 
pure  and  simple.  The  gods  and  other  spiritual  beings 
were  not  eternal,  but  only  the  temporary  manifestations  of 
this  one  Absolute.  The  souls  of  men  were  "sparks  from  the 
central  fire,  drops  from  the  ocean  of  divinity,"  to  be  incar- 
nated times  without  number,  according  to  the  law  of  Karma, 
but  in  the  end  to  find  release  and  drop  back  into  the  bound- 
less ocean  from  which  they  came.  The  only  eternal,  un- 
questionable fact  in  the  universe  is  Brahman,  the  World- 
soul,  and  the  conclusion  was  reached  that  the  Atman,  or 
individual  human  soul,  was  identical  with  it.  "Myself  is 
the  infinite  self"  and  "The  soul  of  the  universe,  whole  and 
undivided,  dwells  in  me,"  are  two  of  the  many  ways  in  which 
this  identity  was  expressed.  Probably  the  most  used  phrase 
is,  "Thou  art  That,"  also  "I  am  Brahman,"  and  "I  am  He."' 
The  object  of  life  for  these  thinkers  was  to  realize  the 
truth  of  these  affirmations.  Salvation  was  to  be  attained 
by  intuition,  by  a  sudden  flash  of  insight,  which  would  drive 
away  the  darkness  and  leave  the  man  possessed  of  this  lib- 
erating thought.  Should  he  achieve  this  insight  by  the 
power  of  his  intellect  after  profound  meditation,  concentrat- 
ing his  whole  mind  on  this  one  thought,  he  was  free.  Aus- 
terities were  of  no  further  use;  he  had  broken  the  bond 
which  held  him  fast  to  the  wheel  of  transmigration  and  he 
would  not  be  born  again.  He  was  free  forever;  the  release 
was  complete  and  final. 

We  must  look  a  little  more  closely  at  this  Absolute  Being, 
Brahman.  Farquhar  says  that  Brahman  is  "a  neuter  noun 
which  expresses  the  common  thought  of  the  time,  that  the 
world-soul  is  an  impersonal  essence  present  in  all  things."* 
So  enthusiastic  were  the  forest  thinkers  over  their  "find" 
that  they  could  not  restrain  themselves  in  their  rapture. 

*  Quoted  from  J.  N.  Farquhar,  Primer  of  Hinduism,  p.  48. 
•Op.  cit,  p.  48. 


162  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Brahman  is  to  them  everything  good  and  desirable,  the  aim 
of  all  their  longing.  But  when  Brahman  is  described  and 
an  attempt  made  to  state  the  qualities  and  attributes  in- 
volved in  their  conception  the  result  is  most  disappointing. 
Nothing  positive  can  be  affirmed ;  it  must  all  be  in  negatives. 
Of  each  positive  characteristic  the  only  word  is,  he  is  not 
that.  It  is  only  by  accommodation  that  Brahman  is  called 
"he"  at  all.  He  is  impersonal  and  the  word  "Brahman"  is 
neuter,  so  the  more  appropriate  term  would  be  "it."  But 
even  more  serious  is  the  impossibility  of  thinking  of  Brah- 
man as  holy  or  righteous.  He  is  considered  as  a  being 
far  beyond  the  distinction  between  right  and  wrong.  That 
were  to  lower  him  and  bring  him  into  the  narrow  circle  of 
human  frailty  and  need.  But  the  sad  fact  is  that  any 
attempt  to  posit  a  being  for  whom  ethical  distinctions  do  not 
exist  is  really  to  descend  to  a  level  below  that  we  occupy. 
Such  a  conception  has  no  power  to  raise  men  to  heights  of 
moral  endeavor  beyond  the  natural  desires  of  the  human 
heart.  This  philosophical  theory  has  crippled  Hinduism 
through  all  the  years  and  holds  out  little  promise  for  the 
future  when  India  needs  all  the  moral  and  spiritual  strength 
she  can  obtain  for  the  task  of  national  reconstruction  which 
is  before  her. 

The  philosophic  development  which  we  have  been  con- 
sidering was  not  completed  for  centuries  after  the  writing 
of  the  Upanishads,  which  occurred  before  B.  C.  500.  No 
systematic  presentation  of  any  theory  can  be  found  in 
these  loosely  connected  writings.  Exactly  what  occurred 
during  a  long  period  we  do  not  know,  not  until  we  come  to 
the  name  of  one  of  the  great  characters  in  India's  religious 
history,  that  of  Sankara,  whose  period  of  activity  fell  in 
the  first  half  of  the  ninth  century  of  our  era.  The  system 
of  which  he  was  the  supreme  teacher  is  called  the  Vedanta, 
the  "end"  or  "aim"  of  the  Veda.  Basing  his  work  on  the 
teachings  of  the  Upanishads  Sankara  went  to  the  utmost 
limit  and  set  forth  an  unqualified  monism.  This  had  been 


HINDUISM  163 

hinted  at  often  before,  but  never  asserted  so  unwaveringly. 
He  not  only  refused  to  recognize  anything  as  real  except 
Brahman;  he  declared  that  the  world  and  all  things  in  it 
were  only  maya,  illusion.  That  we  ourselves  exist  as  dis- 
tinct individuals  is  only  an  illusion,  and  the  thing  most  nec- 
essary for  us  is  to  rid  ourselves  of  the  fatal  misconception 
and  realize  that  there  is  nothing  else  in  existence  except  the 
one  absolute  All  and  that  we  ourselves  are  that  All.  But 
in  addition  to  his  uncompromising  monism  Sankara  was 
willing  to  allow,  as  a  makeshift  for  those  who  could  not 
rise  to  the  "higher"  truth,  certain  of  the  current  doctrines 
about  the  gods,  always  maintaining  that  they  were  only 
manifestations  of  the  great  Brahman  and  not  themselves 
eternal.  As  soon  as  one  could  reach  the  higher  levels  he 
would  see  that  these,  too,  were  illusive  and  could  give  no 
satisfaction  for  those  who  had  attained. 

The  system  of  Vedanta  as  taught  by  Sankara,  with  its 
attempt  to  deny  the  reality  of  the  world  altogether,  was  not 
accepted  by  all.  Other  religious  leaders,  like  Ramanuja 
(about  A.  D.  noo),  approach  more  nearly  a  theistic  position, 
acknowledging  that  Brahman  is  the  sole  reality,  but  at  the 
same  time  holding  that  he  has  definite  and  positive  charac- 
teristics, like  intelligence  and  goodness,  and  is  not  utterly 
unapproachable  by  his  children,  who  are  real  beings  and  not 
the  mere  "shadow  of  a  dream."  Not  only  was  there  this 
measure  of  divergence,  but  other  philosophies  arose,  one 
of  which  in  particular  was  utterly  different  from  the  Ve- 
danta. In  the  Sankhya  system  we  have  a  dualism.  There 
is  a  primary  active  substance,  called  Prakriti,  and  also 
many  individual  souls,  called  Purusha,  which  are  eternal 
and  distinct  like  the  primary  substance  itself.  Here  salva- 
tion is  attained  by  insight,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Vedanta, 
but  the  releasing  truth  which  dawns  on  the  mind  is  that 
one's  soul  is  eternally  different  from  the  active  substance, 
instead  of  being  eternally  one  with  the  world-soul  as  in  the 
Vedanta.  The  system  is  utterly  atheistic  and  contains  less 


164  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

of  hope  and  help  than  the  Vedanta  to  which  it  is  so  vigor- 
ously opposed. 

THE  CASTE  SYSTEM 

Hinduism  is  the  most  amorphous  of  all  religions.  Almost 
anything  can  be  said  of  it  with  the  assurance  that  it  is  true, 
and  at  the  same  time  almost  anything  which  is  said  may  be 
denied  and  that  with  good  reason.  Hinduism  is  a  strange 
medley  of  different  and  even  contradictory  elements  mixed 
together  into  a  very  irregular  and  uneven  mass.  What  is  it, 
then,  which  makes  a  man  a  Hindu?  What  is  the  standard 
of  orthodoxy  which  may  be  applied  to  determine  a  man's 
standing  in  the  Hindu  community?  The  only  correct  an- 
swer is  that  it  is  neither  belief  nor  yet  the  acceptance  of  a 
moral  code  which  makes  a  man  an  acceptable  Hindu.  He 
may  believe  what  he  likes  and  do  as  he  pleases  and  yet  have 
no  question  raised  as  to  his  standing  as  a  Hindu.  And  yet 
Hinduism  is  as  rigid  and  as  exclusive  as  any  religion  in 
the  world.  In  fact,  no  outsider  can  become  a  member  of 
their  religious  community,  he  must  be  born  into  it,  he 
must  be  a  "birthright"  Hindu  or  not  be  one  at  all.  The  clue 
to  this  strange  anomaly  is  to  be  found  in  caste,  the  form 
of  organization  obtaining  wherever  Hinduism  exists.  To  be 
a  Hindu  means  to  belong  to  one  of  the  castes  and  to  obey 
the  caste  regulations.  Orthodoxy,  then,  in  Hinduism  is 
conformity  to  custom,  petrified  in  a  social  organization. 

A  caste  is  a  group  of  people  kept  apart  from  other  caste 
groups  by  regulations  touching  marriage,  food,  in  some  cases 
occupation,  and  also  residence.  Taking  them  in  the  reverse 
order,  conformity  with  reference  to  residence,  which  is  the 
least  important,  means  that  a  Hindu  shall  not  travel  or 
reside  outside  India.  The  fact  that  the  university  centers  in 
Europe  and  America  attract  so  many  Hindus  clearly  indi- 
cates that  this  rule  rests  lightly  on  those  who  feel  impelled 
to  seek  their  education  abroad.  Yet  among  the  stricter  fam- 
ilies a  ceremony  of  purification  is  necessary  on  the  return 


HINDUISM  165 

from  a  foreign  country  to  cleanse  away  the  taint  which  has 
been  incurred  by  travel  and  by  association  with  foreigners, 
the  men  and  women  they  have  met  in  our  colleges  and  uni- 
versities! Without  this  they  cannot  be  received  back  into 
the  old  fellowship  in  the  family  cult.  But  so  far  as  the 
travel  itself  is  concerned  most  enlightened  Hindus  wink 
calmly  at  it  and  pay  no  attention  to  the  prohibition.  Occu- 
pation helps  to  determine  caste  in  some  cases,  but  this  is 
not  of  great  importance,  as  members  of  many  of  the  castes 
are  to  be  found  widely  scattered  among  the  occupations 
and  professions. 

In  respect  of  food  conformity  is  more  significant.  One 
must  not  eat  with  a  man  of  another  caste,  and  frequently 
among  the  higher  castes  the  food  he  eats  must  be  prepared 
by  a  servant  who  belongs  to  his  own  caste.  But  even  with 
respect  to  this  regulation  many  a  Hindu  to-day  pays  scant 
attention  to  it  at  times.  He  will  eat  with  others  on  a  dining 
car  and  at  a  banquet,  even  though  he  may  be  scrupulously 
careful  when  he  is  at  home.  The  women  are  more  conserv- 
ative and  prevent  the  growth  of  more  liberal  ideas  which 
the  men,  particularly  those  of  intelligence,  might  not  be 
adverse  to  introducing.  At  the  present  time,  when  India 
begins  to  feel  the  need  of  unity  in  order  to  build  up  a 
worthy  national  life,  the  bondage  of  caste  becomes  oppres- 
sive, and  leading  men  feel  the  necessity  of  breaking  away 
from  the  old  customs  and  demonstrating  the  possibility  of 
all  Indians,  Mohammedans  as  well  as  Hindus,  sharing  a 
common  political  and  social  life.  Not  a  great  deal  has 
been  accomplished,  but  this  is  the  tendency,  and  the  papers 
frequently  report  the  meeting  of  various  classes  of  the  In- 
dian community  around  the  common  table. 

But  it  is  at  the  point  of  marriage  that  caste  retains  its 
deathlike  grip  upon  the  social  life  of  India.  Hindu  parents 
are  between  two  fires.  It  is  a  disgrace  to  have  daughters 
who  remain  unmarried  after  their  early  teens,  and  yet  hus- 
bands must  be  found  within  their  own  caste  or  subcaste. 


166          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

This  rule  is  absolute  and  unbending.  A  Hindu  may  be  lax 
in  respect  of  food  and  eating  with  other  caste  men,  but  at 
this  point  he  is  like  adamant.  He  simply  will  not  marry 
his  children  to  outsiders  and  thus  "break  caste."  This  is  the 
unforgivable  sin  in  Hinduism.  The  problem  that  is  sug- 
gested by  this  dilemma  has  led  to  customs  which  have  been 
of  untold  injury  to  Indian  life.  Child  marriage  is  an  almost 
inevitable  outcome  of  the  necessity  of  rinding  desirable  hus- 
bands and  wives  for  all  the  boys  and  girls  in  the  community. 
Thousands  of  marriages  are  consummated  before  children 
reach  their  teens,  with  physical  and  moral  results  which  can 
only  be  deplorable.  This  custom,  in  a  land  of  high  mortal- 
ity, has  produced  thousands  of  little  widows  and  widowers. 
The  boy  may  marry  again,  and  usually  does  so,  but  the  poor 
girl — her  story  is  the  saddest  of  all  the  suffering  little  women 
in  the  world.  She  is  held  responsible  for  the  death  of  her 
husband,  and  as  a  criminal  her  hair  is  shaved  off  and  her 
dearly  loved  ornaments  are  taken  away  and  she  is  dressed 
in  a  coarse  garment  and  becomes  the  drudge  of  the  family. 
She  may  not  remarry,  but  remains  until  the  end  of  her  life 
a  poor  miserable  soul — unless,  of  course,  she  be  the  mother 
of  sons.  This  lifts  her  to  a  position  of  honor  from  which 
she  cannot  be  completely  displaced.  The  most  commendable 
thing  for  the  widow  to  do  until  comparatively  recent  time 
was  to  mount  the  funeral  pile  and  be  burned  to  death  with 
the  body  of  her  husband ;  and,  willingly  or  unwillingly,  this 
horrible  custom,  called  sati,  or  suttee,  was  carried  out  many 
thousands  of  times  before  the  British  government  put  a  stop 
to  it  in  1829.  Many  of  the  measures  of  reform  which  are 
being  urged  by  the  government  and  intelligent  Hindus  have 
as  their  object  the  raising  of  the  age  of  marriage  and  the 
relief  of  widows  by  allowing  their  remarriage.  But  with 
all  that  wise  reformers  may  say  and  do  the  mass  of  the 
people  still  cling  to  the  old  customs,  and  women  still  con- 
tinue to  be  looked  upon  as  a  kind  of  inevitable  evil.  The 
day  of  woman's  emancipation  lies  in  the  future,  and  the 


HINDUISM  167 

sad  and  discouraging  fact  is  that  all  we  have  been  discussing 
is  an  integral  part  of  the  religion  to  which  they  cling  with 
such  tenacity.  It  is  embedded  in  their  sacred  literature  and 
has  been  enunciated  by  their  great  religious  leaders. 

No  theory  of  the  origin  of  caste  is  completely  satisfactory. 
We  do  not  know  the  exact  number  of  castes  and  subcastes. 
We  may  get  some  clues  to  help  us  to  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  the  institution.  The  word  for  caste  in  Sanskrit,  varna, 
originally  meant  "color."  This  would  indicate  that  the 
Aryan  as  he  came  into  India  from  the  north  was  origi- 
nally fair-skinned  in  contrast  to  the  dark  Dravidian.  In 
their  endeavor  to  preserve  the  purity  of  their  blood  and 
the  fairness  of  their  skin  they  hedged  themselves  around 
with  restrictions  touching  their  relations  with  the  aborigines. 
The  earliest  division  we  have  on  record  separates  into  dis- 
tinct groups  the  priests  (Brahmins),  the  warriors  (Kshat- 
triyas),  the  agriculturalists  (Vaisyas),  and  the  menial  la- 
borers (Sudras).  The  three  mentioned  first  constitute  the 
"twice-born"  people,  those  who  had  the  right  to  be  initiated 
or  be  born  again  into  the  religious  community.  The  Sudras, 
who  are  supposed  to  have  been  largely  of  Dravidian  blood, 
were  outsiders  so  far  as  the  ceremonial  and  the  worship  of 
the  "twice-born"  was  concerned.  According  to  the  theory 
announced  in  the  Institutes  of  Manu,  the  ancient  book  of 
laws  and  customs,  the  Brahmins,  Kshattriyas,  and  Vaisyas 
were  born  from  the  mouth,  the  arms,  and  the  thighs  re- 
spectively of  the  Supreme  Soul  of  the  Universe,  while  the 
poor  Sudra  proceeded  from  the  feet  and  was  looked  upon 
as  the  menial,  doing  his  work  at  the  bidding  of  the  three 
other  orders. 

But  while  no  one  has  been  able  to  give  an  acceptable  ex- 
planation of  caste,  the  most  evident  fact  in  the  whole  system 
is  the  preeminence  of  the  Brahmin  priest.  He  is  the  key 
and  dominates  the  system.  All  take  their  cue  from  him.  He 
looks  upon  himself  as  inherently  superior  to  all  the  others. 
Was  he  not  created  different  and  has  he  not  demonstrated 


168          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

that  he  is  not  to  be  classified  with  the  common  run  of  men? 
The  caste  system  is  his  way  of  preserving  his  position  invio- 
late, and  he  clings  to  it  with  the  most  serious  concern.  At 
many  points  he  has  deserved  well  of  the  people.  He  is  right- 
fully recognized  as  the  gifted  leader  in  the  higher  life  of  the 
community.  But  on  the  other  hand  having  little  or  no  sym- 
pathy with  those  who  occupy  a  subordinate  position  and 
filled  with  unfathomable  pride,  the  Brahmin  lords  it  over  the 
consciences  and  wills  of  men  and  exercises  a  tyranny  un- 
surpassed anywhere  in  the  world. 

Some  good  things  may  be  said  of  caste.  It  engenders  a 
certain  solidarity  which  is  of  great  value  in  the  precarious 
conditions  in  which  most  of  the  people  of  India  live.  In 
times  of  distress  caste  acts  as  a  labor  union  or  a  trade  guild 
or  as  a  relief  association  in  giving  assistance  to  those  who 
otherwise  would  have  no  recourse.  There  is  a  mutual  help- 
fulness exercised  which  is  good  and  beneficial.  But  the 
count  against  the  system  as  a  whole  far  outweighs  any  good 
which  may  be  claimed  for  it.  It  is  fundamentally  divisive 
and  stands  as  a  strong  bar  against  the  unity  which  the  for- 
ward looking  Hindu  knows  must  be  achieved  before  India 
can  become  a  strong  nation  ready  and  worthy  to  take  its 
place  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  Even  deeper  than 
this,  however,  caste  kills  all  sense  of  brotherhood.  To  a 
Hindu  his  "brother"  is  a  member  of  his  caste  and  no  one 
else.  He  is  taught  to  despise  and  look  down  upon  the 
lower  castes  as  inferior,  by  contact  with  whom  he  must  not 
soil  his  hands.  And  when  we  come  to  the  fifty  millions  of 
out-castes,  or  "untouchables,"  we  reach  a  depth  of  human 
misery  and  degradation  almost  unbelievable.  Their  touch  is 
polluting  and  their  very  shadow  falling  on  the  food  prepared 
for  a  high-caste  man  renders  it  unfit  for  use.  Centuries  of 
such  disdain  and  abuse  have  created  a  race  of  cringing 
creatures  who,  scorned  by  their  own  proud  superiors,  have 
lost  all  the  self-respect  they  might  have  developed  and  are 
to-day  among  the  most  pitiable  people  in  the  world.  They 


HINDUISM  169 

constitute  one  of  the  greatest  challenges  to  social  and  reli- 
gious service  to  be  found  anywhere.  And  yet  despite  their 
name,  out-castes,  they  are  a  part  of  a  religio-social  system 
which  is  responsible  for  their  present  condition. 

HINDUISM  SINCE  THE  RISE  OF  BUDDHISM 

During  the  sixth  century  before  our  era  Buddhism  arose 
in  northern  India.  As  a  result  of  the  example  and  teachings 
of  Gautama  Buddha  the  whole  complexion  of  things  reli- 
gious was  greatly  changed  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  land.  We  may  not  at  this  time  trace  the  rise  and 
development  of  the  new  doctrine  and  the  new  discipline 
which  affected  so  profoundly  the  life  of  the  Indian  peoples; 
that  will  be  done  in  the  following  chapter.  All  that  is  needed 
here  is  to  state  that  Hinduism  was  greatly  modified  during 
the  centuries  when  Buddhism  was  in  the  ascendency.  The 
period  is  very  obscure  historically,  and  only  occasionally  is 
light  shed  on  the  course  of  the  religious  development,  and 
then  it  is  the  condition  of  Buddhism  which  is  illumined  and 
not  Hinduism.  Buddhism  finally  disappeared  with  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Mohammedan  on  the  scene  of  Indian  history 
about  the  year  A.  D.  1000.  But  long  before  this  decay  had 
set  in  and  Buddhism  was  losing  its  hold.  It  is  exceedingly 
doubtful  whether  its  teachings  were  ever  so  widely  and  so 
deeply  accepted  that  the  tenure  of  Hinduism  was  really 
imperiled.  But  what  is  true  is  that  as  Buddhism  waned 
Hinduism  again  came  to  its  own,  and  in  the  end  established 
its  supremacy  over  the  land,  a  supremacy  which  has  been 
challenged  only  by  Islam,  an  alien  religion  which  has  settled 
itself  in  the  land  and  won  millions  of  the  native  peoples. 

The  Hinduism  which  raised  its  head  again  after  centuries 
of  strong  Buddhistic  influence  was  not  the  same.  The  caste 
system  remained  intact  and  even  developed,  though  it  was 
not  encouraged,  to  say  the  least,  by  the  Buddha  and  his  fol- 
lowers. It  was  too  deeply  ingrained  and  too  fundamentally 
in  line  with  Hindu  instincts  to  be  eliminated  by  the  slight 


i/o          THE  RELIGIONS   OF  MANKIND 

opposition  offered  by  Buddhism.  The  sacrificial  system  was 
more  seriously  modified,  but  here  the  theory  remained  the 
same;  only  the  form  of  the  sacrifice  was  changed.  Bloody 
sacrifices  almost  ceased  to  be  offered  and  their  place  was 
taken  in  large  part  by  cereals  and  flowers.  We  shall  have 
occasion  to  note  one  of  the  exceptions  to  this  rule,  but  the 
remarkable  change  is  not  to  be  minified  by  the  relatively 
few  instances  of  animal  sacrifice  which  continued  to  exist. 
And,  finally,  the  Hinduism  which  emerged  after  the  partial 
eclipse  of  so  many  centuries  presents  a  very  different  or- 
ganization of  the  pantheon,  and  even  worships  a  different 
set  of  gods.  The  same  names  occur,  but  gods  who  were 
once  prominent  have  given  place  to  others  who  held  a  sub- 
ordinate position  or  to  those  whose  names  do  not  even 
occur  in  the  ancient  records. 

Back  in  the  period  of  the  Gupta  dynasty,  A.  D.  320650,  a 
movement  was  on  foot  to  look  upon  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and 
Siva  as  the  threefold  manifestation  of  the  Supreme,  the 
Absolute  Brahman  we  have  met  before."  This  triad,  or 
Hindu  Trimurti,  has  never  entered  deeply  into  the  thinking 
of  the  people,  though  it  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  reli- 
gious literature,  and  is  at  times  represented  in  sculpture  in 
the  form  of  a  triple  head  on  one  pair  of  shoulders.  Brahma, 
the  first  member  of  this  trio,  is  looked  upon  as  the  creator, 
the  more  or  less  personal  source  of  the  universe  and  the  life 
which  it  contains.  He  has  no  popular  following,  only  one 
or  two  temples  in  all  India  being  devoted  to  his  worship. 
But  the  fact  that  he  is  looked  upon  as  a  personal  creator 
calls  attention  to  the  theistic  tendency  which  has  expressed 
itself  in  various  forms  throughout  the  course  of  Hindu 

*  For  convenience,  and  in  accordance  with  The  Century  Dictionary, 
a  difference  in  spelling  has  been  introduced  to  distinguish  the  three 
meanings  of  the  word  frequently  given  as  "Brahman."  This  spelling 
Brahman  designates  the  neuter,  impersonal  All,  the  philosophical 
Absolute.  Brahma  stands  for  the  personal  creator,  also  called 
Prajapati,  one  of  the  emanations  of  the  Supreme  Brahman.  Brah- 
min, which  springs  from  the  same  idea  and  root,  is  used  of  the 
priests  and  the  priestly  caste. 


HINDUISM  171 

religious  history,  in  spite  of  the  popular  polytheism  which 
is  to  be  found  at  every  turn  and  the  deadening  pantheism 
which  has  so  completely  captured  the  intelligence  of  the 
country. 

The  story  of  Vishnu  and  Siva  is  very  different.  Their 
worship  constitutes  the  sectarianism  of  modern  Hinduism, 
the  people  being  roughly  divided  between  the  worshipers 
of  Vishnu  and  the  worshipers  of  Siva.  Vishnu  was  one  of 
the  celestial  gods  in  the  Rigveda  and  was  associated  with 
Indra,  with  whom,  however,  he  could  not  compare  in  im- 
portance. During  the  centuries  Vishnu  increased  in  dignity 
and  greatness  and  seemed  to  take  to  himself  some  of  the 
qualities  of  the  great  Indra  himself,  until  in  the  end  he 
easily  overtopped  the  national  god  of  the  Aryans  of  a 
bygone  age.  The  most  marked  characteristic  of  the  worship 
of  Vishnu  is  that  he  is  not  worshiped  in  his  own  person,  but 
in  that  of  one  or  another  of  his  manifestations,  or  incarna- 
tions, avatars,  in  Sanskrit.  Through  these  incarnations 
the  worship  of  Vishnu  absorbed  many  stray  beliefs,  even  the 
Buddha  being  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  avatars.  Accord- 
ing to  Barth,  "An  Avatara  ...  is  the  presence,  at  once  mystic 
and  real,  of  the  supreme  being  in  a  human  individual,  who  is 
both  truly  god  and  truly  man."*  Vishnu  himself  was  lifted 
higher  and  higher  until  he  was  finally  declared  to  be  one 
with  the  Universal  Spirit,  the  great  Preserver,  and  as  such 
almost  fills  the  place  of  the  sole  god  of  the  Universe.  Hindu 
thought  thus  fluctuates  between  what  seem  to  us  to  be  irrec- 
oncilable extremes,  polytheistic,  theistic,  and  pantheistic, 
with  comparatively  little  difficulty. 

The  most  prominent  of  the  incarnations  of  this  great  god 
are  Rama  and  Krishna,  heroes  of  the  great  epic  poems,  the 
"Ramayana"  and  the  "Mahabarata,"  but  of  the  two  Krishna 
is  incomparably  the  greater.  He  is  probably  worshiped  by 
more  people  than  any  other  god  in  India.  Krishna  is  an 
incarnation  with  a  very  striking  history.  How  much  of  it 

'  The  Religions  of  India,  p.  170. 


172  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

is  legendary  and  how  much  sober  fact,  if  he  ever  lived  at 
all,  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  say.  He  is,  like  Rama,  a 
great  hero,  "an  exterminator  of  monsters,  a  victorious  war- 
rior," but  unfortunately  his  record  is  not  admirable.  As 
given  in  the  Puranas  he  is  said  to  have  had  sixteen  thousand 
wives  and  a  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  children,  many  of 
his  days  being  spent  in  an  impure  round  of  gambols  with 
the  shepherd  maidens.  Spiritualize  these  accounts  as  far  as 
one  may,  the  dangerous  journey  through  such  mire  to  reach 
the  heights  beyond  is  sure  to  leave  its  stain  deep  on  the  soul 
of  even  the  purest-minded  reader.  It  is  a  sad  plight  in 
which  popular  Hinduism  finds  itself  with  its  most  exalted 
incarnation.  If  the  great  God  above  is  like  that,  there  is 
little  hope  of  raising  the  people  to  a  high  level  of  honor 
and  purity. 

In  connection  with  the  worship  of  Vishnu  arose  a  new 
doctrine,  that  of  Bhakti,  or  "devotion,"  which  is  much  like 
the  Christian  idea  of  faith  and  trust.  It  is  directed  by  the 
worshiper  toward  one  or  another  of  these  incarnations  and 
thus  provides  a  point  of  contact  with  the  typical  attitude  of 
Christianity,  that  of  trust  in  the  "incarnate  God."  It  is  to 
be  noted  that  the  idea  of  Bhakti  has  spread  widely  over 
India  and  is  directed  to-day  to  many  gods  outside  the  bounds 
of  Vishnu  worship.  The  Vaishnavas,  as  the  worshipers  of 
Vishnu  are  called,  are  found  principally  in  the  north  of 
India.  The  actual  worship  is  performed  before  an  image 
of  the  god  or  incarnation  and  consists  of  prayers  and  offer- 
ings. The  sacrifice  of  animals  has  entirely  disappeared  and 
use  is  made  of  grain  and  fruit  and  flowers  and  milk. 

The  worshipers  of  Siva,  or  Saivites,  are  particularly  strong 
in  the  South.  In  strong  contrast  with  Vishnu,  the  Preserver, 
Siva  is  known  as  the  Destroyer  and  represents  the  dark, 
cruel  aspects  of  life.  He  also  represents  the  powers  of  re- 
production and  is  always  symbolized  in  his  temples  by  the 
Linga,  or  human  phallus,  instead  of  by  an  image.  This 
idea  is  strongly  emphasized  in  Siva  worship,  Nandi  the  bull 


HINDUISM  173 

being  represented  as  an  attendant  of  the  god,  a  striking  ex- 
ample of  powerful  passion  and  generative  power.  "Yet  in 
South  India  there  are  daily  sung  to  Siva  hymns  that  for 
warmth  of  feeling  have  not  often  been  excelled.  .  .  .  The 
god  seems  so  unlovable,  yet  the  Saivite  saints  are  intoxi- 
cated with  love  for  him,  and  call  him  Grace  itself."1  With 
all  his  other  attributes  he  becomes  to  them  all  that  any  of 
the  other  gods  stand  for,  and  even  ravishes  their  gaze  as 
they  see  in  him  the  god  of  love.  Both  the  philosopher  and 
the  peasant  see  in  Siva  the  paragon  of  all  excellence,  for  one 
the  basis  of  an  all-embracing  world-view  and  for  the  other 
the  friendly  god  who  will  be  with  him  in  trouble. 

Unlike  Vishnu,  Siva  has  no  incarnations,  but  he  is  not 
alone  in  the  world  of  gods.  He  has  his  consorts,  or  wives, 
and  is  very  frequently  worshiped  in  their  persons  rather 
than  in  his  own.  Among  these  wives  are  Devi,  "the  god- 
dess," Durga,  "the  inaccessible,"  Karala,  "the  horrible  one," 
and  Kali,  "the  black  one."  This  terrible  nest  of  harpies 
accentuates  the  tragic  feature  of  Siva  worship,  and  illus- 
trates to  what  lengths  these  poor  people,  on  whom  the 
struggle  of  life  has  laid  its  heavy  hand,  are  compelled  to  go 
to  find  solace  and  relief.  Kali,  to  take  but  one  example,  is  the 
goddess  who  is  depicted  as  the  cruel  woman  who  with  devil- 
ish glee  dances  on  the  body  of  her  husband,  holding  aloft  a 
human  head  she  has  just  cut  off.  She  can  only  be  sat- 
isfied with  blood,  and  at  her  temples  goats  and  calves  are 
killed  in  order  to  spatter  her  protruding  tongue  with  the 
bloody  sacrifice.  And  yet  women  all  over  India  cry  out  to 
Mother  Kali  as  their  only  hope  in  distress  and  suffering. 
Closely  connected  with  the  worship  of  Siva  is  that  of 
Ganesa,  his  son,  the  elephant-headed  god  of  wisdom,  whose 
unique  images  are  to  be  seen  in  all  part  of  the  country.  The 
Saivites  are  numbered  by  the  million,  and  by  their  devotion 
and  earnestness  attest  the  inalienable  religiousness  of  the 
Indian  people,  who  cry  out  after  God  and  must  find  him, 
T  Sydney  Cave,  Redemption  Hindu  and  Christian,  p.  L24f. 


174          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

even  if  in  the  grotesque  and  horrible  forms  in  which  Siva 
and  his  company  are  represented. 

Besides  these  main  forms  of  religious  life  India  has  many 
others.  When  we  are  told  by  Monier- Williams  that  ninety 
per  cent  of  all  the  people  of  India  are  demon-worshipers,  we 
ask  how  that  can  be  when  the  people  have  been  roughly 
divided  between  the  two  great  sects.  The  fact  is,  the  lines 
are  loosely  drawn  and  are  stepped  over  with  ease.  Millions 
who  may  at  times  worship  at  the  shrines  of  Krishna  or 
Siva  are  also  devotees  of  lesser  gods  and  village  divinities, 
who  are  little  better  than  malignant  demons.  They  see  no 
incongruity  in  so  doing.  They  are  in  want  and  are  fearful 
as  they  look  into  the  future — why  should  they  not  have 
access  to  any  and  all  gods  who  may  possibly  avert  the  dan- 
gers which  beset  them  ?  And  so  the  worship  extends  out  to 
include  the  worship  of  heroes  and  saints,  demons  and  spirits, 
tutelary  and  village  deities,  the  family  ancestors,  and  even 
animals  and  plants  and  stones  and  other  inanimate  objects. 
There  is  no  end  to  the  list  of  sacred  objects  held  in  reverence 
and  worshiped  by  the  people.  The  cow  is  holy,  and  to  be 
treated  with  reverence.  Even  monkeys  are  sacred  and  invi- 
olable, with  temples  erected  in  their  honor,  in  whose  courts 
troops  of  the  chattering  fortunates  are  fed  and  treated  like 
spoiled  children.  India  has  gone  mad  on  religion  and  finds 
divinity  everywhere.  All  the  way  from  the  lofty  conception 
of  the  Supreme  Creator  down  to  the  depths,  where,  in  Sak- 
tism,  the  female  principle,  or  Sakti,  is  worshiped  with  rites 
which  at  times  descend  to  the  lowest  level  of  vileness,  India 
has  run  the  gamut  of  religious  experience  and  doctrine.  This 
god-intoxicated  land  is  not  to  be  restrained  in  her  long 
quest  for  a  satisfying  conception  of  God  and  for  an  experi- 
ence which  will  bring  them  into  vital  touch  with  him. 

MODERN  REFORM  MOVEMENTS 

Great  changes  are  taking  place  in  India,  but  with  all  that 
every  form  of  belief  and  every  practice  which  has  been  men- 


HINDUISM  175 

tioned  obtains  and  is  proclaimed  with  great  earnestness.  It 
would  seem  that  India  is  able  to  learn  much  and  add  it  to  her 
religious  life,  but  that  she  finds  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  let 
go  time-honored  forms  and  institutions  even  though  they  are 
clearly  outworn.  As  Mr.  Farquhar  points  out,  this  conserva- 
tism is  due  to  the  family  system,  founded  on  ancestor  wor- 
ship, the  caste  system,  which  is  the  dominant  force  in  the 
life  of  the  Hindu,  and  the  religious  system,  which  is  so 
varied  and  multiform  that  a  man  may  find  just  about  what 
he  wants  if  he  searches  for  it.*  But  with  all  this  India  has 
come  into  contact  with  the  West  and  cannot  remain  the 
same.  Western  education  and  ideas  are  eating  into  the 
fabric  of  Indian  culture  and  great  changes  are  impending. 
For  years  to  come  the  customary  restraints  will  continue  to 
hold  men  bound  so  far  as  their  outward  conformity  and  for- 
mal acquiescence  are  concerned,  but  inwardly  the  pervasive 
influence  of  new  ideas  is  making  impossible  a  hearty  accept- 
ance of  the  old  beliefs.  Educated  men  simply  cannot  believe 
in  polytheism.  They  are  becoming  too  well  informed  to  be 
able  to  assert  the  divine  origin  of  caste  and  the  unnatural 
distinctions  which  it  involves.  Somehow  they  cannot  enter 
sincerely  into  the  ancestral  rites  which  have  played  so  im- 
portant a  part  in  the  family  life. 

The  growing  national  spirit  is  making  a  profound  differ- 
ence in  the  whole  outlook  of  the  leading  men.  They  see  the 
possibility  of  the  development  of  Indian  nationality,  which 
was  scarcely  dreamed  of  a  generation  ago.  Not  that  India 
has  not  chafed  for  decades  under  the  rule  of  the  British, 
but  that  until  very  recent  years  this  has  merely  taken  the 
form  of  irritation  because  of  foreign  domination  without 
any  intelligent  plan  for  a  better,  united  India  governed  by 
her  own  people.  Had  the  hand  of  Britain  been  lifted 
at  any  time  in  the  past,  India  would  have  been  plunged  into 
civil  war,  Mohammedan  against  Hindu  and  even  one  section 

'  Primer  of  Hinduism,  chap.  xvii, 


176  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

of  the  Hindu  community  against  another.  There  was  no 
solidarity,  no  sense  of  unity,  no  possibility  of  a  real  national- 
ity. Even  now  the  movement  is  so  young  and  immature  that 
grave  danger  would  be  faced  should  Britain  retire.  What 
the  future  holds  out  we  do  not  know,  but  of  one  thing  we 
may  be  sure :  India  has  caught  the  vision  of  nationality,  of  a 
unified  life,  of  the  development  of  a  distinctive  civilization, 
and  is  determined  to  bend  all  her  energies  and  to  make  any 
sacrifices  necessary  to  accomplish  this  end.  The  effect  of 
this  on  religion  will  be  profound.  Whatever  stands  in  the 
way  of  the  desired  aim  will  be  laid  aside.  The  ignorance  of 
the  mass  of  the  people  will  make  the  process  a  long  one,  but 
the  steady  increase  of  education  and  the  determined  attitude 
of  the  entire  leadership  of  the  country  point  to  the  day  of 
achievement.  The  religious  exclusiveness  of  both  Islam  and 
Hinduism,  the  divisiveness  of  caste,  the  deadening  influence 
of  polytheism — all  are  looked  upon  as  standing  in  the  way  of 
any  real  progress  and  must  therefore  give  way  to  the  new 
spirit. 

What  has  happened  in  view  of  these  contacts  with  the 
West  and  all  that  they  have  involved  ?  One  may  say,  in  gen- 
eral, that  while  the  influence  of  the  West  has  been  recog- 
nized, the  attempt  has  been  made  to  accommodate  the  old 
beliefs  to  the  newer  views  and  thus  fit  them  for  the  new 
age.  The  national  appeal  is  strong.  The  pride  of  the  Indian 
has  been  touched.  Led  by  such  men  as  Rabindranath 
Tagore,  he  believes  that  India  already  possesses  all  that  is 
necessary  to  satisfy  her  religious  needs  without  going  to  the 
despised,  practical,  materialistic  West  for  instruction  in 
religion.  But  even  the  most  ardent  nationalist  feels  the  influ- 
ence of  the  new  day  and  knows  he  must  accommodate  him- 
self to  the  new  situation,  or  be  lost.  Even  those  who  have  the 
hardihood  to  declare  that  Hinduism,  taken  just  as  it  is,  is 
sufficient  to  meet  all  the  needs  of  the  land,  have  enlarged 
their  horizon  and  attempt  to  show  how  their  religion  can 
fulfill  the  aspirations  of  all  people  everywhere.  One  of  the 


HINDUISM  177 

most  interesting  of  all  these  was  Rama-Krishna  Parama- 
hamsa,  an  ascetic,  who  lived  in  a  temple  near  Calcutta.  "He 
was  ready  to  accept  and  to  practice  any  aspect  of  Hinduism, 
and  he  imagined  himself  now  a  Christian,  now  a  Mohamme- 
dan."9 His  greatest  disciple  was  the  Swami  Vivekananda, 
who  appeared  at  the  Chicago  Parliament  of  Religions,  in 
1893,  and  lectured  to  entranced  audiences  in  various  parts  of 
America.  Everything  in  Hinduism  was  beautiful  and  noble 
and  needed  only  the  touch  of  an  idealizing  interpretation  to 
appear  as  the  climax  of  the  world's  religious  development. 
This  is  the  attitude  of  Mrs.  Annie  Besant,  who  has  stopped 
at  nothing  in  her  acceptance  of  Hinduism,  but  sees  every 
feature  as  evidence  of  the  essential  divinity  which  adheres 
to  the  whole  system. 

The  most  advanced  of  all  the  groups  which  realize  the  situ- 
ation and  are  seeking  to  bring  religion  into  line  with  the 
new  light  from  the  West  is  the  Brahmo  Samaj.  This  Samaj, 
or  "church,"  has  had  an  honorable  history  since  the  day  of 
its  founding  in  1828.  A  very  remarkable  man,  Ram  Mohan 
Ray  (1772-1833),  highly  educated  and  well  versed  in  the 
literature  of  Buddhism  and  Christianity  as  well  as  of  Hin- 
duism, turned  against  the  polytheism,  the  idolatry,  the  social 
abuses,  and  the  moral  blemishes  of  the  faith  in  which  he  had 
been  brought  up  and  founded  a  "Theistic  Church."  He  had 
few  disciples  and  in  all  its  history  the  society  has  had  but 
few  members,  not  over  five  thousand  at  any  time.  Even 
this  small  number  has  been  seriously  divided  and  has  been 
unable  to  present  a  united  front  against  the  social  and  reli- 
gious abuses  which  it  condemns.  All  hold  to  an  unqualified 
monotheism  and  a  purely  spiritual  worship.  They  are  social 
reformers,  opposing  caste,  child-marriage,  and  the  enforced 
celibacy  of  widows,  but  at  this  point  there  is  a  division  of 
sentiment  between  the  progressives  and  conservatives. 
Caste  feeling  is  too  strong  to  be  easily  overcome,  and  one 


"Op.  cit,p.  157. 


i;8          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

wing— the  less  important  let  it  be  said — were  unwilling  thus 
to  cut  themselves  off  from  the  Hindu  community.  The 
"Progressive  Brahmo  Samaj,"  led  by  the  gifted  though  er- 
ratic Keshab  Chandra  Sen  (1838-1884),  threw  itself  into 
the  work  of  reform  with  zeal.  Keshab  was  a  deeply  spirit- 
ual man  and  read  much  in  the  literature  of  Christianity.  He 
held  Christ  in  the  highest  honor  and  some  were  even  opti- 
mistic enough  to  look  forward  to  his  conversion  to  Christian- 
ity. He  not  only  had  no  intention  of  taking  this  step,  but  in 
the  end  lost  his  hold  on  his  own  followers  by  claiming  almost 
divine  honors  as  a  special  channel  of  revelation.  The  Samaj 
still  lives  and  through  its  numerous  publications  promotes 
the  reforms  for  which  it  has  stood  and  witnesses  to  its 
belief  in  the  one  supreme  God  who  may  be  approached  only 
in  spiritual  worship. 

Of  a  very  different  sort  is  the  Arya  Samaj.  Founded  in 
1875  by  Dayananda  Sarasvati,  whose  watchword  was  "Back 
to  the  Vedas,"  and  who  believed  India  could  only  be  regen- 
erated by  a  return  to  the  ancient  faith,  this  society  has  grown 
in  numbers  until  in  191 1  the  census  gives  the  membership  as 
almost  a  quarter  of  a  million.  Opposed  to  idolatry  and 
with  the  desire  to  promote  the  worship  of  one  God,  the 
Samaj  has  stood  for  certain  needed  reforms,  but  caste  has 
not  been  successfully  opposed,  and  the  belief  in  transmigra- 
tion and  Karma  nullifies  what  might  otherwise  be  a  worthy 
advocacy  of  monotheism.  Violently  opposed  to  Christianity 
and  lending  itself  to  the  nationalistic  agitation,  the  Arya 
Samaj  tends  to  become  as  much  a  political  as  a  religious 
movement.  Its  reforms  do  not  go  deep  enough  to  promise 
anything  commensurate  with  the  need,  and  its  failure  to 
strike  at  the  root  of  the  religious  needs  of  the  country  gives 
little  hbpe  that  India's  regeneration  will  be  furthered  by 
this  agency. 

According  to  Mr.  Farquhar's  analysis  there  is  on  one  hand 
a  steady  advance  of  the  old  faiths  and  an  attempt  to  rein* 
terpret  them  to  meet  the  new  situation,  and  at  the  same  time 


HINDUISM  179 

"a  continuous  and  steadily  increasing  inner  decay."1'  The 
direction  which  these  movements  have  taken  has  been  deter- 
mined by  the  presence  of  Christianity  in  the  country.  With 
comparatively  few  who  as  yet  have  abandoned  their  old 
beliefs  and  become  followers  of  Jesus  Christ  the  tendency 
is  toward  an  amalgam  of  what  is  native  to  India  and  what  is 
brought  in  from  the  outside.  But  such  combinations  fail  at 
the  point  of  appeal.  They  are  clumsily  put  together  and  are 
neither  one  thing  nor  the  other.  India  will  remain  religious 

—  that  cannot  be  doubted.    Her  great  problem  is  to  discover, 
as  she  awakens  in  a  new,  strange  world,  what  her  needs  are 
and  where  she  must  go  for  satisfaction.    Already  the  proc- 
ess has  begun,  and  the  results  up  to  the  present  hour  are  not 
favorable  to  the  old  religious  formulas,  and  as  she  more  com- 
pletely comes  to  herself  the  query  arises  whether  she  will  not 

—  much  sooner  than  many  now  think  possible  —  realize  that  in 
the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  all  her  aspirations  and  longings 
may  find  complete  fulfillment. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

J.  N.  Farquhar,  A  Primer  of  Hinduism  (London,  second  edit.,  1912). 
J.  N.  Farquhar,  Modern  Religious  Movements  in  India  (New  York, 


A.  Earth,  The  Religions  of  India  (London,  fourth  edit,  1906).    One 

of  the  best  of  the  older  books. 
Monier  Monier-Williams,  Indian  Wisdom    (London,   fourth  edit, 

1893).    History  of  the  religious  literature,  with  numerous  examples 

from  the  writings. 
James  Bissett  Pratt,  India  and  Its  Faiths  (Boston,  1915).    The  rec- 

ord of  a  traveler  with  a  mind  trained  to  interpret  religious  belief 

and  practice. 
George   Foot   Moore,   History   of  Religions,   Vol.   I,   Chaps.   XI, 

XIII,  XIV. 

10  Modern  Religious   Movements  in   India,  p.  431.     (Macmillan, 
New  York,  1915.) 


CHAPTER  VII 
BUDDHISM 

GAUTAMA  THE  BUDDHA 

ABOUT  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  before  Christ  a 
little  boy  was  born  in  north  India  who  was  destined  to  influ- 
ence the  thought  of  Asia  more  than  any  other  down  to  our 
own  time.  The  Aryan  invaders  had  for  centuries  been  ad- 
vancing down  the  Ganges  Valley  and  were  now  to  be  found 
presenting  a  broad  front  along  the  western  confines  of  what 
we  now  know  as  the  province  of  Bengal.  There  they  had 
settled  down  in  little  kingdoms  not  altogether  friendly  with 
each  other.  Local  chieftains  wielded  sway  over  limited  terri- 
tories and  in  some  cases  were  organized  into  federations  or 
oligarchies,  called  republics.  Now,  Gautama  the  Buddha 
was  the  son  of  one  of  these  petty  chieftains.  Within  recent 
years  the  place  of  his  birth  has  been  identified  with  certainty. 
At  Kapilavastu,  about  a  hundred  and  thirty  miles  north  of 
the  modern  city  of  Benares,  just  within  the  borders  of  the 
native  state  of  Nepal,  a  stone  tablet  was  discovered  in  1896 
which  marks  the  birthplace  of  India's  greatest  son.  He  was 
given  the  name  of  Siddhartha,  but  is  generally  known  as 
Gautama,  the  name  of  the  family  or  clan  to  which  he  be- 
longed. The  title  Buddha,  or  "enlightened  one,"  is  applied 
to  many  others,  but  it  is  Gautama  the  Buddha  who  was  with- 
out doubt  a  historical  character  and  founded  the  system  to 
which  he  gave  the  name. 

Many  are  the  stories  told  of  his  birth  and  early  years, 
which  are  so  fabulous  that  it  is  with  difficulty  we  are  able 
to  extract  the  modicum  of  truth  they  contain.  We  know 
little  of  the  life  of  young  Siddhartha  until  he  was  about 
thirty  years  of  age.  We  may  well  believe  the  tradition  that 

180 


BUDDHISM  181 

he  excelled  in  manly  sports.  His  endurance  and  the  attain- 
ment of  a  hale  and  hearty  old  age  attest  a  strong  constitu- 
tion and  a  firm  foundation  laid  in  youth  for  a  strenuous  and 
long  life.  What  we  are  quite  certain  of  is  that  he  was 
married  and  had  one  son,  Rahula,  of  whom  he  was  exceed- 
ingly fond.  A  persistent  tradition  repeated  many  times  over 
in  Buddhist  literature  indicates  that  he  was  of  the  medita- 
tive and  thoughtful  type  and  possessed  a  nature  deeply 
touched  by  the  pain  and  sorrow  of  life.  We  are  told  that 
he  was  strangely  moved  by  the  sight  of  an  old  decrepit  man, 
a  man  suffering  from  an  offensive  disease,  a  putrefying 
corpse,  and  finally  a  wandering  monk  who  had  realized  the 
vanity  of  life  and  had  forsaken  it  forever  to  search  for  the 
deeper  satisfactions  in  religion  and  philosophy.  We  can  only 
guess  at  the  feelings  which  were  surging  in  the  breast  of 
Gautama.  What  we  do  know  is  that  about  the  age  of  thirty 
he  left  house  and  home  never  to  return  to  the  old  relation- 
ships again.  It  has  been  called  the  "great  renunciation." 
He  turned  away  from  wife  and  child,  from  his  father  and 
the  succession  to  the  chieftainship,  from  all  that  the  future 
had  to  offer  of  honor  and  success — all  these  he  rejected  to 
answer  the  summons  of  an  inner  craving  which  was  not 
satisfied  and  which  could  not  be  hushed.  He  made  the  break 
just  when  he  did  because  he  found  his  little  son  was  en- 
twining himself  so  firmly  about  his  heart  that  if  he  waited 
any  longer  it  would  be  impossible  to  tear  himself  away. 

In  thus  abandoning  his  home  and  becoming  a  penniless 
wanderer  Gautama  took  the  step  which  many  before  and 
since  his  day  in  India  have  taken.  Dissatisfied  with  life 
and  yet  longing  for  satisfaction,  reaching  out  after  peace 
and  not  knowing  where  to  find  it,  India  has  always  had  its 
holy  men,  who  travel  from  place  to  place  or  else  seek  some 
lonely  spot  in  the  jungle  or  on  a  mountainside  and  give 
themselves  to  contemplation  and  ascetic  practices.  He  was 
merely  doing  what  countless  others  have  done  in  the  same 
quest.  We  know  comparatively  little  about  the  next  five  or 


Vj 


182  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

six  years.  There  is  good  evidence  that  he  went  to  one  reli- 
gious teacher  after  another,  but  what  they  taught  and  what 
he  thought  of  their  theories  we  do  not  know.  It  seems  clear 
that  they  could  not  satisfy  the  deep  craving  in  the  heart  of 
this  earnest  seeker.  The  opposition  which  he  showed  in 
later  years  to  the  current  philosophies  would  seem  to  have 
begun  at  the  time  when  they  failed  to  give  an  adequate 
answer  to  his  questions.  Gautama  was  by  no  means  alone 
in  his  search.  Many  others  in  India  at  that  time  were  seek- 
ing new  answers  to  their  religious  questioning.  The  name  of 
one  other,  a  contemporary  of  Gautama,  has  come  down  to  us, 
Mahavira,  the  founder  of  the  religion  of  the  Jains,  which 
numbers  about  a  million  and  a  quarter  adherents  at  the 
present  time  in  India.  He,  too,  forged  a  new  belief  out 
of  his  thought  and  experiences  and  added  another  to  the 
number  of  cults  in  this  deeply  religious  land.  Based  on  the 
principle  of  a  fundamental  dualism  in  life,  the  Jains  have 
given  themselves  to  a  severe  asceticism  and  have  made  the 
prohibition  of  killing  any  single  living  thing,  large  or  small, 
a  cardinal  doctrine.  While  Buddhism  has  ceased  to  exist 
in  the  land  of  its  birth,  Jainism  still  thrives,  though  it  is 
of  slight  importance  in  comparison  with  the  surrounding 
Hinduism. 

We  left  Gautama  with  "the  teachers,  both  hearing  them, 
and  asking  them  questions."  Either  after  or  during  this 
period  he  gave  himself  to  a  strict  regimen.  By  abstinence 
and  other  ascetic  practices  he  reduced  himself  to  a  skeleton. 
A  small  company  of  disciples  gathered  around  him  in  admi- 
ration of  his  fortitude  and  perseverance.  They  were  not 
able  to  follow  him  in  the  utter  abandon  of  his  efforts  to 
extort  the  peace  he  craved  by  hardships  and  deprivations. 
He  carried  his  exertions  to  the  breaking  point  and  nature 
rebelled.  He  finally  fell  over  in  a  swoon.  His  disciples 
thought  he  had  died  and  wondered  at  the  pluck  and  resolu- 
tion they  had  failed  to  attain.  But  he  revived,  much  to 
their  surprise.  Then  an  astonishing  thing  takes  place. 


BUDDHISM  183 

Gautama  calmly  declares  to  his  followers  that  mortification 
had  failed  to  bring  the  peace  he  craved  and  that  he  would 
give  it  up.  His  erstwhile  disciples  cannot  understand  a 
statement  so  unorthodox,  and  forthwith  take  their  leave 
and  go  to  Benares  with  contempt  in  their  hearts  for  one 
who  has  turned  away  from  so  time-honored  a  practice  as 
self-abnegation  and  asceticism.  And  just  here  the  origi- 
nality of  Gautama  begins  to  show  itself.  Up  to  this  time 
he  had  been  a  typical  Hindu,  but  now  he  began  to  branch 
off  and  follow  a  direction  of  his  own.  Asceticism  had 
failed  to  satisfy,  so  he  turned  away  from  it  decisively. 
From  this  time  he  became  an  advocate  of  the  "middle  way." 
His  experience  had  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  neither 
luxury  on  one  side  nor  asceticism  on  the  other  could  satisfy 
the  inner  craving  he  felt.  The  only  thing  to  do  then,  so  far 
as  every-day  life  was  concerned,  was  to  travel  the  "middle 
way,"  not  giving  way  to  softness  and  luxury  on  one  side, 
nor  undergoing  the  hardships  of  self-inflicted  asceticism  on 
the  other.  He  set  men  the  example  of  simple  living  with 
only  a  few  regulations  which  were  calculated  to  keep  men 
from  the  evils  and  sins  which  would  make  the  development 
of  character  impossible.  It  was  good,  wholesome  living  he 
inculcated — wholesome  in  all  particulars  save  one.  Gautama 
had  separated  himself  from  his  home  and  his  wife,  and  he 
could  not  see  that  traveling  the  "middle  way"  ought  to 
mean  the  avoidance  of  unbridled  license  on  one  hand  and 
celibacy  on  the  other.  To  him  no  advance  could  possibly 
be  made  in  character,  no  progress  could  be  made  toward 
peace  and  satisfaction  so  long  as  man  lived  in  company  with 
woman.  He  must  turn  away  from  home  and  wife  and  chil- 
dren if  he  were  to  take  up  seriously  the  task  of  quieting  the 
craving  within  and  winning  the  peace  he  desired.  It  was  a 
serious  weakness.  To  make  woman  a  stumbling-block  to 
man  in  the  journey  toward  his  heart's  desire  is  to  lower  her 
condition  and  at  the  same  time  to  keep  man  down  to  a  level 
at  which  the  finest  flowers  of  individual  and  social  life  can 


184  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

never  grow.  Gautama  did  not  see  this,  and  his  system  has 
suffered  to  our  own  day  from  this  defect. 

But  all  that  he  had  attained  was  negative.  He  had  learned 
that  the  inner  rest  he  was  craving  was  not  to  be  had  by 
living  a  life  of  ease  or  by  asceticism.  The  process  of  elim- 
ination had  been  at  work,  but  nothing  positive  had  been 
gained.  The  temptation  came  to  give  up  the  pursuit,  go 
back  to  his  home,  and  take  up  his  life  where  he  had  left  it 
on  the  night  when  he  suddenly  took  his  flight.  Would  this 
not  be  the  best  course  out  of  the  confusion  in  which  his 
failure  had  left  him?  But  no,  that  would  not  have  been 
Gautama  the  Buddha.  He  found  himself  in  a  dreadful 
moral  and  mental  struggle,  which  is  described  most  realisti- 
cally in  Buddhist  literature.  The  forces  of  Mara,  the  enemy 
of  all  that  is  good,  charged  like  legions  of  armed  demons 
from  the  front  and  then  from  the  rear,  seeking  to  break 
down  his  determined  resistance,  but  through  it  all  he  sat 
unmoved,  with  purpose  unchanged  and  his  desire  un- 
quenched.  At  last,  under  the  shade  of  the  famous  Bo-tree, 
where  he  had  remained  all  the  day  fighting  his  battle  for 
spiritual  emancipation,  as  the  evening  came  on  and  the 
quiet  shadows  crept  in  around  him,  the  enlightenment  came 
and  he  was  free.  Thus  did  Gautama  become  the  Buddha, 
the  "enlightened."  His  last  battle  with  his  lower  nature  had 
been  won,  his  doubts  were  dissolved,  and  the  peace  whose 
elusive  quest  he  had  been  following  so  long  swept  over  his 
soul,  never  again  to  be  absent  from  his  experience.  He 
had  grasped  the  meaning  of  the  world's  sorrow  and  could 
cure  it. 

Such  a  memorable  experience  and  such  a  stupendous 
claim  demand  explanation.  What  was  the  disease  which 
had  doomed  men  and  women  to  sorrow  and  despair  ?  Surely 
the  man  who  could  not  only  give  the  correct  diagnosis  but 
also  offer  the  cure  was  a  benefactor  the  whole  world  was 
seeking.  Without  doubt  the  strivings  through  which  he 
had  been  passing  uninterruptedly  for  so  many  years  and 


BUDDHISM  185 

the  attempts  he  had  made  from  every  conceivable  angle  to 
find  the  way  out  of  his  mental  anguish  account  in  large 
measure  for  the  final  conclusion  the  Buddha  reached,  but 
for  him  the  whole  matter  was  the  result  of  a  spiritual  illu- 
mination or  mental  intuition  which  burst  upon  him  like  a 
light  flowing  in  from  the  heavens.  For  many  weary  years 
he  had  lived  in  the  presence  of  his  own  inner  discontent 
and  the  sorrow  of  the  world  around  him.  What  was  the 
cause  of  this  sorrow  and  inner  pain?  Nothing  less  than 
desire,  the  lust  of  gold  and  fame  and  pleasure,  all  that 
made  men  cling  to  the  things  of  life  and  sense.  He  had 
laid  his  finger  on  the  canker  that  was  eating  the  life  out  of 
his  fellowmen.  How  much  of  all  this  he  had  thought  out 
before  the  day  of  concentration  under  the  Bo-tree  it  is 
impossible  to  say.  The  final  element  in  his  conclusion  was 
that  peace  and  praise  could  only  come  by  the  suppression  of 
desire,  the  conquest  of  the  lower  nature  by  the  power  of 
the  human  mind  brought  to  bear  on  this  root  of  human 
misery. 

The  temptation  which  came  to  him  at  once  was  to  become 
a  solitary  recluse,  spending  his  years  in  quiet  enjoyment  of 
his  newly  found  experience  and  thinking  through  all  its 
implications.  But  again  this  would  not  have  been  Gautama 
the  Buddha.  Throughout  his  life  benevolence  and  pity 
toward  his  fellow  creatures  was  a  powerful  motive  and 
determined  his  action.  He  deliberately  made  up  his  mind 
to  devote  his  time  to  the  carrying  of  his  message  to  men 
as  far  as  his  journeys  might  lead  him.  He  acted  upon 
his  determination  and  proceeded  at  once  to  Benares,  where 
he  found  and  won  back  the  disciples  who  had  so  recently 
left  him.  They  felt  the  power  of  his  conviction  and  the 
truth  he  was  uttering.  In  this  way  until  the  end  of  his 
long  life  he  continued  to  win  converts  until  they  could  be 
counted  by  the  hundreds  and  thousands.  His  love  for  men 
and  his  desire  to  lift  from  them  the  burden  of  sorrow  and 
misery  they  were  carrying  make  the  Buddha  one  of  the 


i86  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

world's  great  altruists.  He  never  wearied  of  telling  his 
message  and  rejoiced  as  one  after  another  men  and  women 
came  to  him,  were  convinced,  and  went  away  with  a  new 
life  open  before  them.  He  had  determined  "To  set  roll- 
ing the  royal  chariot- wheel  of  a  universal  empire  of  truth 
and  righteousness,"  and  he  never  lost  an  opportunity  to 
make  a  convert  and  set  another  soul  free  from  the  fetters 
of  desire. 

The  chronology  of  the  life  of  the  Buddha  is  uncertain. 
The  period  from  the  time  when  he  abandoned  his  home 
until  his  emancipation  was  probably  about  five  years, 
roughly  from  the  age  of  thirty  to  thirty-five.  He  died  at 
about  the  age  of  eighty,  thus  spending  forty-five  years  in 
declaring  his  doctrine  up  and  down  northern  India.  During 
the  rainy  season,  called  the  "was,"  he  remained  in  one 
place  teaching  his  disciples  and  preaching  to  the  people  who 
came  to  him,  but  as  soon  as  the  dry  season  had  come  he  was 
off  again  on  his  long  journeys,  accompanied  by  a  group  of 
his  disciples.  There  were  no  decisive  crises  in  his  life  after 
the  period  of  the  Bo-tree  experience,  and  the  story  is  a 
somewhat  disconnected  narrative  of  what  he  said  and  did 
in  the  course  of  the  years.  He  met  many  people,  men  and 
women  of  all  ranks  and  classes  of  society,  and  most  inter- 
esting are  the  accounts  of  his  replies  and  admonitions.  He 
was  dignified  yet  sympathetic,  firm  yet  kindly,  dealing  in 
each  case  with  insight  and  sending  each  one  away  with  an 
appropriate  and  convincing  word.  No  wonder  he  came  to 
be  idolized  by  his  followers.  They  looked  on  him  as  one 
who  could  meet  every  emergency,  as  one  who  was  not  to 
be  baffled  by  any  carping  or  even  sincere  questioner.  In 
the  course  of  his  tours  he  came  to  his  old  home  at  Kapila- 
vastu,  and  there  met  his  wife  and  his  son.  He  went  back 
several  times.  They  may  have  thought  to  receive  him  back 
to  the  old  relationships,  but  that  was  not  to  be.  They  were 
little  more  to  him,  that  is,  so  far  as  his  actions  showed,  than 
fellowbeings  who  stood  in  need  of  his  message.  His  words 


BUDDHISM  187 

fell  on  good  ground  in  each  case,  and  both  wife  and  son 
became  members  of  the  two  orders  he  had  instituted,  one 
for  men  and  the  other  for  women.  They  became  penniless 
wanderers  like  the  Buddha  himself,  looking  for  their  daily 
bread  at  the  hand  of  the  kindly  laity  who  considered  it 
meritorious  to  feed  and  otherwise  provide  for  these  holy 
men  and  women. 

So  the  Buddha  lived  out  his  days,  never  ceasing  this 
round  of  teaching  from  place  to  place.  At  last  the  end 
came  as  a  result,  so  it  is  said  by  Professor  T.  W.  Rhys 
Davids,  of  an  attack  of  dysentery  caused  by  eating  a  meal 
of  rice  and  mushrooms.1  He  lived  for  a  number  of  hours, 
during  which  the  time  was  spent  in  converse  with  Ananda, 
his  most  devoted  follower  and  personal  attendant,  and  others 
who  desired  a  word  with  the  dying  leader.  Shortly  before 
becoming  unconscious  he  summoned  his  strength  and  said, 
"Mendicants !  I  now  impress  it  upon  you,  decay  is  inherent 
in  all  component  things;  work  out  your  salvation  with  dili- 
gence !"  Earnest  to  the  very  last  in  his  desire  to  give  direc- 
tion to  all  who  might  need  it,  the  Buddha  passed  away  in 
the  presence  of  a  group  of  his  faithful  disciples.  No  purer 
character  has  India  given  to  the  world,  one  worthy  of  the 
honor  which  has  been  bestowed  by  countless  believers  in 
all  subsequent  ages  and  worthy  of  our  highest  esteem  and 
admiration. 

EARLY  BUDDHISM 

Gautama  left  no  written  records.  The  early  literature 
has  come  down  to  us  in  the  Pali  language  and  consists  of  the 
Three  Pitakas,  or  "Baskets,"  which  contain  the  rules  which 
the  Brothers  and  Sisters  are  to  observe,  the  truths  which 
are  to  be  taught,  and  the  psychological  system  on  which  it 
is  based.  Besides  the  volumes  collected  in  those  writings 
certain  supplementary  works  have  been  added  to  them, 
which  are  considered  a  part  of  the  early  canon.  How  much 

'Buddhism  (Manual),  edit,  of  1912,  p.  80.    (S.  P.  C  K.,  London.) 


1 88  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

of  all  the  teaching  came  from  the  Buddha  himself  it  is  im- 
possible to  say — probably  very  little.  Even  in  writings  like 
the  Dialogues  of  the  Buddha,  which  are  supposed  by  Pro- 
fessor Rhys  Davids  to  have  been  put  into  literary  form 
about  fifty  years  after  the  death  of  Gautama,  evidences  of 
systematization  and  of  arrangement  according  to  a  mnemonic 
system  are  quite  apparent.  It  is  easy,  however,  to  go  too 
far  in  this  direction.  We  may  believe  that  with  all  that  was 
done  in  an  early  day  to  expand  and  elaborate  the  words  and 
teachings  of  the  Buddha  we  have  substantially  what  he 
meant  in  his  message  to  the  India  of  that  day.  What  we 
have  to  work  on,  then,  is  a  library  of  about  twenty-nine 
titles  in  which  "The  number  of  Pali  words  in  the  whole  is 
about  twice  the  number  of  words  in  our  English  Bible."* 

Of  the  various  approaches  which  might  be  made  to  the 
study  of  the  teachings  of  early  Buddhism  there  is  none  more 
fruitful  than  that  through  the  Three  Signs,  or  Fundamental 
Truths.  The  method  of  approach  is  of  real  importance,  for 
the  teaching  of  the  Buddha  is  somewhat  baffling  and  caution 
must  be  exercised  at  a  number  of  important  turning  points. 
It  is  only  within  recent  years,  since  the  Pali  literature  has 
been  more  fully  explored  and  more  carefully  studied,  that 
scholars  have  felt  that  they  are  treading  on  firm  ground  and 
really  begin  to  know  the  genius  of  early  Buddhism  and  the 
places  where  emphasis  should  be  placed  in  the  study. 

The  first  of  the  Fundamental  Doctrines  is  the  imperma- 
nence  of  all  things.  To  put  it  in  the  ancient  phrase,  "All 
the  constituents  of  life  are  impermanent."  The  statement 
is  also  made,  "There  is  no  being — there  is  only  a  becoming." 
This  is  to  be  accepted  as  literally  true  of  all  things ;  gods  as 
well  as  the  tiniest  atom  are  equally  included.  The  passing 
away  may  be  delayed  for  a  long  period,  but  the  principle  of 
change  is  the  principle  of  all  existence,  and  sooner  or  later 
the  process  will  be  evident.  Just  as  soon  as  there  is  a  begin- 

2 Rhys  Davids,  Buddhism  (American  Lectures),  p.  52.  (Putnam, 
New  York,  1896.) 


BUDDHISM  189 

ning  decay  also  begins ;  the  beginning  of  the  end  is  at  hand. 
Here  in  India  five  hundred  years  before  Christ  is  being 
preached  the  philosophy  of  change.  We  do  not  live  in  a 
static  universe,  but  one  in  which  everything  is  in  a  state  of 
flux.  They  were  not  deeply  concerned  with  ultimate  be- 
ginnings or  final  endings ;  what  came  home  with  great  force 
to  these  early  thinkers  was  that  there  was  a  great  force  in 
this  world  of  ours  which  had  always  been  causing  change 
and  which  would  continue  to  do  so  indefinitely.  At  about 
the  same  time  in  Greece  the  early  philosophers  were  con- 
juring with  the  same  idea.  Heracleitus,  about  B.  C.  536-470, 
denied  that  there  was  any  such  thing  as  permanence.  "There 
is  no  static  Being,  no  unchanging  substratum.  Change, 
movement,  is  Lord  of  the  universe."8  And  we  to-day  are 
still  discussing  the  same  problem,  Is  there  anything  perma- 
nent, or  is  everything  subject  to  change?  The  doctrine  of 
evolution  asserts  the  doctrine  of  change  and  links  us  to  the 
ancient  Greeks  and  to  the  Buddha  and  his  followers.  It  may 
not  be  the  final  or  complete  answer,  but  so  far  as  it  reaches 
it  is  the  accepted  doctrine  in  the  world  of  the  educated 
to-day. 

The  early  Buddhists  excluded  nothing  from  the  sweep  of 
their  philosophy.  This  is  the  explanation  of  the  atheism 
with  which  the  Buddha  has  been  charged.  He  was  not  an 
atheist;  he  took  the  gods  of  India  for  granted,  but  it  made 
no  difference  to  him  whether  they  were  real  beings  or  not. 
Whatever  they  were  and  wherever  they  might  be  at  any 
time,  they  were  bound  by  the  same  law  of  impermanence 
and  change.  There  was  no  essential  difference  between  the 
most  exalted  of  them  and  men.  All  belonged  to  the  same 
universe  and  were  subject  in  the  same  way  to  its  laws.  Why 
should  anyone  look  to  them  ?  They  could  give  no  assistance 
which  man  could  not  render  himself.  They  were  in  the 
possession  of  no  powers  man  did  not  have  at  his  disposal. 

3  A.  K.  Rogers,  A  Student's  History  of  Philosophy,  p.  15.  (Mac- 
millan,  New  York,  new  edit.,  1916.) 


190          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

The  result  was  that  the  Buddha  constructed  a  system  in 
which  no  god  was  needed.  A  sense  of  dependence  on  a  god 
was  like  leaning  on  a  broken  reed.  He  might  for  the  time 
being  seem  strong  and  wise,  but  it  was  only  a  passing  phase 
with  no  assurance  of  continuance.  So,  then,  worship  was 
useless  and  prayer  an  empty  form.  What  we  have  is  a  sys- 
tem which  strictly  speaking  is  no  religion  at  all.  Later  we 
shall  try  to  estimate  the  meaning  of  this  conclusion  in  the 
light  of  other  facts,  which  would  indicate  that  elements  of 
a  true  religious  attitude  were  to  be  found  in  the  system  from 
the  beginning,  even  though  formally  everything  religious 
seemed  to  be  excluded. 

The  second  of  the  Fundamental  Signs  is  that  sorrow  is 
implicit  in  all  individuality.  "All  the  constituents  of  life  are 
full  of  misery."  The  Buddha's  discovery  under  the  Bo-tree 
was  that  the  cause  of  the  misery  which  he  himself  had 
sought  to  escape  and  which  he  found  everywhere  in  the 
world  was  desire,  and  desire  is  the  inevitable  accompaniment 
of  conscious  existence.  We  cannot  gain  what  we  want  and 
we  cannot  escape  what  we  dislike,  and  this  involves  misery 
and  sorrow.  This  doctrine  of  suffering  and  its  cure  has 
received  classic  expression  in  the  teaching  of  the  Four 
Noble  Truths  and  the  Noble  Eightfold  Path,  which  we  must 
give  as  shortly  as  possible : 

I.  "Now,  this,  O  recluses,  is  the  noble  truth  concerning 
suffering."  Then  in  many  forms  the  statement  is  made  that 
all  human  experience  involves  suffering,  because  it  flows 
from  individuality,  or  separate  conscious  existence.  To 
live  and  cling  to  life  involves  desire  and  hence  sorrow.  The 
point  to  keep  in  mind  is  that  it  is  not  life,  the  mere  living, 
which  is  attended  with  sorrow.  We  shall  see  that  when  a 
man  has  attained  the  "ideal  state"  in  this  life  he  still  may 
continue  to  live  on  for  many  years  without  sorrow.  This 
is  possible  because  he  has  learned  how  he  can  live  with  no 
desire  after  continued  individuality  and  all  that  that 
involves. 


BUDDHISM  191 

2.  "Now,  this,  O  recluses,  is  the  noble  truth  concerning 
the  origin  of  suffering.    Verily  it  originates  in  that  craving 
thirst  which  causes  the  renewal  of  becomings,  is  accom- 
panied by  sensual  delights,  and  seeks  satisfaction  now  here, 
now  there — that  is  to  say,  the  craving  for  the  gratification  of 
the  passions,  or  the  craving  for  a  future  life,  or  the  craving 
for  success  in  this  present  life."    So  long  as  the  enticements 
of  the  outside  world  have  the  slightest  attraction  for  us  we 
are  subject  to  pain  and  sorrow. 

3.  "Now,  this,  O  recluses,  is  the  noble  truth  concerning 
the  destruction  of  suffering. 

"Verily,  it  is  the  destruction,  in  which  no  craving  remains 
over,  of  this  very  thirst ;  the  laying  aside  of,  the  getting  rid 
of,  the  being  free  from,  the  harboring  no  longer  of,  this 
thirst." 

4.  "And  this,  O  recluses,  is  the  noble  truth  concerning 
the  way  which  leads  to  the  destruction  of  suffering." 

"Verily,  it  is  this  Noble  Eightfold  Path;  that  is  to  say: 
"Right  Views  (free  from  superstition  and  delusion) — 
"Right  Aspirations  (high,  and  worthy  of  the  intelligent, 
earnest  man) — 

"Right  Speech  (kindly,  open,  truthful)— 
"Right  Conduct  (peaceful,  honest,  pure) — 
"Right  Livelihood  (bringing  hurt  or  danger  to  no  living 
thing)— 

"Right  Effort  (in  self-training  and  in  self-control) — 
"Right  Mindfulness  (the  active,  watchful  mind) — 
"Right  Rapture  (in  deep  meditation  on  the  realities  of 
life)."* 

In  the  course  of  his  gradual  progress  in  the  Path  the 
monk  must  break  the  Ten  Fetters,  Delusion  of  Self,  Doubt, 
the  Efficacy  of  Good  Works  and  Ceremonies,  Sensuality, 
111- Will,  Love  of  Life  on  Earth,  Desire  for  a  Future  Life 
in  Heaven,  Pride,  Self-righteousness,  and  Ignorance. 

When  a  man  shall  have  achieved  the  eight  positive  char- 

4  Quoted  from  Buddhism  (American  Lectures),  pp.  136-138. 


192  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

acteristics  of  the  Noble  Path  and  broken  the  Ten  Fetters, 
he  has  become  an  Arhat  (also  Arahat,  Arahant),  and  thus 
has  realized  the  Buddhist  ideal  of  life.  It  is  also  known  as 
Nirvana,  or  "the  going  out" — "the  going  out  of  the  three 
fires  of  lust,  ill-will,  and  dullness,  or  ignorance."  So  then, 
Arhatship,  or  Nirvana,  may  be  attained  here  in  this  life,  a 
state  of  perfect  mental  quiet  and  rest,  in  which  no  desire 
ruffles  the  poise  of  the  peaceful  monk  (save,  of  course,  the 
desire  for  more  of  the  present  satisfaction  and  the  desire  to 
bestow  the  gift  on  others)  and  no  longing  breaks  in  on  his 
contemplation.  But  is  there  no  future  life,  no  expectation 
beyond  the  time  when  his  body  shall  crumble  away  in  old 
age  and  death?  This  can  only  be  answered  by  a  considera- 
tion of  the  last  of  the  signs. 

This  Truth  is  that  of  the  absence  of  a  "soul,"  the  "no- 
soul"  doctrine.  "All  the  constituents  of  life  are  without  a 
soul."  We  are  individuals,  but  we  have  no  permanent  or 
even  temporary  soul  as  an  entity  in  itself.  It  is  all  a  delusion 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  person  or  a  chariot  or  a  chair. 
These  are  only  names  which  we  give  to  the  temporary 
gathering  together  into  a  seeming  unity  of  qualities  or  "ag- 
gregates" which  are  only  parts  of  the  all-embracing  uni- 
verse in  which  we  live  and  of  which  we  form  a  part.  You 
may  ask  of  a  chair  as  you  mention  each  part,  "Is  this  the 
chair?"  and,  of  course,  the  answer  must  in  each  case  be 
"No."  Then  the  Buddhist  says:  "Where,  then,  is  your 
chair?"  It  has  eluded  you — there  is  no  chair!  What  you 
call  a  chair  is  but  the  name  you  give  to  the  temporary  col- 
lection of  parts  which  when  brought  together  may  perform 
a  useful  function.  So  of  a  human  being.  He  is  composed  of 
parts  which  when  assembled  under  certain  conditions  we  call 
an  individual,  but  there  is  no  real  person  there,  no  you  nor 
I  nor  he.  The  parts  which  make  up  a  human  being  are 
called  Skandhas,  or  "aggregates,"  and  they  are  five  in  num- 
ber. First  there  are  the  material  properties,  in  short  our 
physical  bodies.  Then  follow  four  mental  qualities,  which, 


BUDDHISM  193 

as  nearly  as  we  are  able  to  designate  them  in  the  terms  of 
modern  psychology,  may  be  given  thus :  sensations,  or  feel- 
ings; abstract  ideas,  or  perception;  potentialities,  or  the 
elements  of  consciousness;  and  thought,  or  consciousness 
taken  as  a  unified  whole.  We,  to  speak  of  ourselves  as 
individuals,  are  merely  the  name  which  is  given  to  the  five 
skandhas  when  they  are  thus  united.  What  holds  them 
together  is  what  might  be  called  the  "thread  of  life."  When 
at  death  the  thread  is  broken  the  skandhas  fall  apart  never 
again  to  reassemble.  That  individual  has  ceased  to  be  and 
will  never  come  into  existence  again.  There  is  no  soul,  so 
how  could  he? 

But  Buddhism  believes  in  transmigration,  and  the  question 
naturally  arises,  How  can  there  be  any  transmigration  when 
there  is  no  soul  to  transmigrate?  It  would  seem  that  the 
Buddha  should  have  dropped  this  doctrine  altogether.  There 
must  have  been  good  reason  for  retaining  it  when  it  plunged 
him  into  such  a  strange  dilemma.  The  fact  is,  the  Buddha 
held  fast  to  the  old  theory  because  it  offered  him  a  moral 
explanation  of  the  cruel  inequalities  of  life.  He  could  not 
find  sufficient  reason  in  men's  conduct  in  this  life  to  justify 
the  measure  of  blessing  and  suffering  which  was  the  lot  of 
his  fellow  human  beings.  It  must  be  because  of  good  deeds 
or  wickedness  done  in  a  previous  life.  Now,  while  this  was 
satisfying  as  far  as  it  went — provided,  of  course,  one  could 
believe  in  any  kind  of  transmigration — the  Buddha  met  the 
same  question  again,  How  believe  in  transmigration  when 
one  has  no  belief  in  a  soul?  And  here  is  one  of  the  most 
difficult  and  subtle  points  in  the  whole  theory  of  early  Bud- 
dhism, so  important  that  it  is  repeated  many  times  over  in 
the  Pali  literature.  There  is  no  soul,  but  something  does 
or  may  pass  over  into  another  existence.  It  is  the  sum  total 
or  the  net  result  of  all  the  actions  which  have  been  per- 
formed by  the  individuals  who  have  followed  one  after 
another  in  the  series.  That  is,  the  individual  now  living 
inherits  from  the  individual  which  preceded  him  the  result 


194          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

of  his  moral  achievement  or  failure.  He  may  rise  higher 
in  the  scale  or  sink  lower  than  his  predecessor  according 
as  he  adds  to  or  subtracts  from  the  moral  content  which  he 
inherited.  What  causes  him  to  be  born  at  all  if  he  is  not 
the  same  individual  who  had  lived  before?  So  long  as  any 
one  dies  and  still  has  desire  or  craving  (in  the  Buddhist 
sense)  left  in  his  heart  another  set  of  skandhas  is  bound  to 
assemble  and  form  another  individual  who  must  take  up  the 
task  where  his  predecessor  left  it.  And  so  it  goes  on  from 
one  individual  to  another  until  in  the  end  the  series  to  which 
they  have  all  belonged  comes  to  an  end  forever  when  one 
arises  who  succeeds  in  crushing  out  desire,  becomes  an 
Arhat,  and  enters  Nirvana.  His  body  may  keep  on  living 
for  years,  but  when  it  dies  the  skandhas  fall  apart  and  there 
is  nothing  to  require  another  set  of  skandhas  to  gather  again, 
for  there  is  nothing  left  around  which  they  may  assemble. 
Karma  simply  ceases  to  function  in  this  case. 

This  is  the  Buddhist  law  of  Karma.  According  to  this 
law,  new  individuals  are  born  one  after  another  until  all 
desire  is  used  up.  There  is  no  more  Karma,  or  Karma 
has  been  used  up,  are  different  ways  of  speaking  of  the  same 
process  and  its  final  ending.  So  with  all  the  change  taking 
place  in  the  universe  and  in  every  particle  of  matter  in  it, 
there  is  an  unchanging  law  according  to  which  all  this  takes 
place.  It  is  impersonal  and  works  by  a  kind  of  blind  neces- 
sity, but  it  is  inevitable  and  unchanging,  the  one  great  pro- 
pelling power  in  the  universe.  The  Buddha  gives  no  evi- 
dence that  he  ever  thought  of  these  final  questions.  He  was 
averse  to  any  such  consideration.  He  makes  the  statement 
many  times  that  he  is  concerned  with  one  thing  only,  and 
that  is  sorrow  and  the  curing  of  sorrow — all  else  is  irrele- 
vant. But  the  cure  in  its  final  outcome  seems  to  us  so  inade- 
quate. When  an  Arhat  has  in  this  life  attained  Nirvana, 
what  becomes  of  him  when  his  body  dies?  What  becomes 
of  a  candle  flame  when  it  is  blown  out  ?  We  are  on  delicate 
ground,  but  the  Buddhist  is  likely  to  answer  the  inquirer 


BUDDHISM  195 

at  this  point  by  saying  that  nothing  essential  is  lost.  We 
of  the  West  are  not  satisfied  and  insist,  "Is  not  conscious- 
ness lost,  and  personality  lost,  and  without  these  what  re- 
mains?" And  still  the  Buddhist  replies,  "Nothing  is  lost"— 
so  wide  is  the  chasm  between  the  mind  of  the  East  and 
the  West! 

Surely,  all  this  could  not  be  expected  to  find  lodgment 
in  the  minds  of  the  common  people,  and  it  never  did.  At- 
tainment was  possible  only  to  those  who  separated  them- 
selves from  ordinary  life  and  became  monks,  living  a  life 
apart  in  communities  to  attain  the  end  they  sought.  The 
order  was  not  a  priesthood,  standing  between  God  and  men. 
The  gods  were  of  no  use,  and  man  must  secure  his  attain- 
ment by  his  own  powers,  so  a  priesthood  would  have  been 
an  anomaly.  The  order  was  merely  a  means  and  an  aid  to 
spiritual  attainment.  During  the  whole  history  of  Buddhism 
the  order  of  monks  is  the  key  to  its  expansion  and  its  power 
in  every  land  to  which  it  has  gone.  The  monasteries, 
large  and  small,  in  every  Buddhist  country  attest  the  hold 
of  the  idea  of  salvation  through  self -discipline  on  the  minds 
of  men  and  women.  Formal  and  even  degenerate  though 
they  may  have  become  in  many  cases,  the  monastic  institu- 
tions still  continue  to  live  and  influence  the  lives  of  the 
people. 

The  Buddha,  the  Doctrine,  and  the  Order  are  the  three 
anchors  of  early  Buddhism.  When  the  candidate  for  the 
order  comes  before  the  abbot  of  a  monastery  he  repeats 
this  formula: 

"I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Buddha. 
I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Law  (Dharma). 
I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Order  (Sangha)."5 

This  is  about  as  near  a  prayer  as  early  Buddhism  achieved. 
In  it  lies  the  germ  of  an  amazing  development  when  real 
prayer  was  offered  to  real  gods  who  were  looked  upon  as 

'Quoted  from  Rhys  Davids,  Buddhism  (Manual),  p.  160. 


196  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

able  to  deliver  them,  but  this  does  not  belong  to  the  early 
day.  The  monasteries  were  not  to  be  the  permanent  home 
of  the  monks  in  the  original  intention.  They  were  to  be 
penniless  wanderers  (Bhikshus),  depending  on  the  gifts  of 
the  laity  for  their  daily  needs.  Only  during  the  rainy  season 
were  they  to  be  located  in  a  definite  place.  But  the  tempta- 
tion was  great  to  possess  a  permanent  seat,  and  there  arose 
great  institutions  with  magnificent  establishments  wherever 
the  religion  was  carried.  A  monk  might  possess  nothing  of 
this  world's  goods,  but  the  monastery  could.  As  a  result 
they  became  powerful  and  had  immense  influence,  like  the 
monasteries  in  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  equipment 
of  the  monks  was  exceedingly  simple.  An  almsbowl,  in 
which  to  secure  food  on  the  daily  round;  the  three  vest- 
ments, so  that  the  entire  body  might  be  covered;  a  staff,  a 
needle,  a  razor,  a  tooth-pick,  a  water-strainer,  so  as  not  to 
destroy  animal  life  in  drinking — and  he  was  fully  furnished. 
There  was  little  variation  in  the  daily  routine.  Early  morn- 
ing recitation  of  the  sacred  books  and  meditation,  the  round 
for  alms  in  the  mid-morning,  the  simple  noonday  meal,  rest 
and  meditation  again,  the  day  closing  with  service  and  reci- 
tations in  the  hall  of  the  monastery.  There  were  no  serv- 
ices for  the  public  and  no  real  worship.  During  the  rainy 
season  the  monks  would  preach  to  the  people.  The  regula- 
tions have  been  changed  greatly  in  different  countries  and 
at  different  periods,  but  these  simple  rules  were  those  with 
which  the  institution  started  and  to  some  extent  prevail 
to-day. 

The  monk  was  bound  to  obey  The  Eight  Precepts : 

"One  should  not  destroy  life. 

"One  should  not  take  that  which  is  not  given. 

"One  should  not  tell  lies. 

"One  should  not  become  a  drinker  of  intoxicating  liquors. 

"One  should  refrain  from  unlawful  sexual  intercourse — 
an  ignoble  thing. 

"One  should  not  eat  unseasonable  food  at  nights. 


BUDDHISM  197 

"One  should  not  wear  garlands  nor  use  perfumes. 
"One  should  sleep  on  a  mat  spread  on  the  ground/** 
The  first  five  are  manifestly  on  a  different  plane  from  the 
last  three.  The  Buddhists  recognized  this,  and  when  incul- 
cating moral  principles  among  the  common  people  required 
of  them  a  strict  observance  of  the  first  five  only.  So  while 
the  Buddhist  did  not  believe  in  a  soul,  the  moral  system 
clearly  indicates  that  he  set  high  store  on  the  discipline  of 
life,  through  which  he  hoped  for  purity  and  honor.  All  this 
is  to  the  credit  of  the  system  and  demands  recognition  as  a 
marked  advance  upon  the  practice  and  teaching  of  the  sur- 
rounding population  of  India.  It  has  gone  with  Buddhism 
into  the  Eastern  world  as  a  steadying  influence,  and  doubt- 
less explains  in  part  its  favorable  reception  into  many  lands 
which  might  otherwise  have  turned  away  from  its  teaching. 

HlNAYANA    AND    MAHAYANA 

To  recount  the  story  of  the  development  of  Buddhism 
and  its  expansion  into  the  countries  of  eastern  and  southern 
Asia  would  take  long.  The  Buddha  lived  in  the  sixth  and 
fifth  centuries  before  Christ;  one  estimate  gives  the  dates  as 
B.  C.  560-480.  The  first  date  in  Indian  history  of  which 
we  may  be  sure  is  when  Alexander  the  Great  invaded  India 
in  B.  C.  326.  We  do  not  know  much  about  the  condition  of 
Buddhism  until  the  reign  of  Asoka,  who  ascended  the  throne 
in  B.  C.  273  and  ruled  as  the  first  real  emperor  of  India  for 
about  forty  years.  The  significant  fact  is  that  Asoka  became 
a  Buddhist  and  ruled  his  wide  dominions  according  to  the 
precepts  of  the  faith.  He  instituted  the  office  of  chief  min- 
ister of  justice  and  religion,  whose  main  task  was  to  preserve 
the  purity  of  the  faith.  The  most  notable  contribution  he 
made  to  the  cause  of  Buddhism,  however,  was  the  sending 
of  embassies  or  missions  to  various  countries  to  carry  the 
teaching.  In  this  way  many  countries  were  reached,  notably 

•Quoted  from  Rhys  Davids,  Buddhism  (Manual),  p.  139. 


I98  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

Ceylon,  whose  history  began  with  the  coming  of  Buddhism. 
Again  there  is  a  long  period  about  which  little  is  known.  At 
about  the  time  of  Christ  a  king  arose  in  the  far  northwest  of 
India  named  Kanishka,  who  was  not  an  Indian  at  all,  but 
belonged  to  one  of  the  peoples  of  the  great  central  Asian 
plateau.  He  began  to  rule  in  A.  D.  78,  embraced  Buddhism, 
and  took  much  interest  in  the  faith  and  its  development. 
Again  there  is  little  information  for  centuries  until  in  the 
fifth  and  again  in  the  seventh  century  Chinese  pilgrims, 
men  who  had  become  Buddhists,  made  journeys  to  India  to 
visit  the  historic  places  where  the  Buddha  had  lived  and 
died  and  to  carry  back  relics  and  books  to  their  home  in 
China.  We  learn  from  the  volumes  these  men  wrote  that 
Buddhism,  which  had  been  very  strong,  was  on  the  decline. 
There  may  have  been  some  persecution,  but  the  real  cause 
of  the  deterioration  was  that  Buddhism  was  not  distinctive 
and  rigid  enough  to  escape  being  drawn  back  into  the  Hin- 
duism from  which  it  had  emerged.  By  the  time  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan incursions  into  India,  which  began  in  the  year 
A.  D.  looo,  Buddhism  had  about  disappeared,  and  now  in 
the  land  of  its  birth  and  early  power  the  faith  of  Gautama 
the  Buddha,  her  most  illustrious  son,  is  only  a  memory. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  sad  story  of  the  disappearance  of  a 
faith  from  the  land  for  which  it  promised  to  do  so  much. 
These  outward  changes  and  vicissitudes,  however,  are  of 
lesser  interest  compared  with  the  inner  development  and 
transformation  which  befell  the  faith  itself.  The  evolution 
cannot  be  traced  with  any  accuracy;  about  all  we  know  is 
that  at  a  certain  time  the  faith  was  one  thing,  and  then  again 
several  centuries  after  it  had  become  something  very  dif- 
ferent. Councils  were  called  to  decide  on  questions  on  which 
the  monasteries  differed,  but  much  obscurity  hangs  over 
these  assemblies.  A  notable  council  was  held  under  the 
patronage  of  Kanishka  about  A.  D.  100,  after  which  a  deep 
cleavage  is  apparent  between  two  schools  of  thought,  the 
Hinayana  and  the  Mahayana.  The  name  of  Nagarjuna  is 


BUDDHISM  199 

also  heard ;  he  is  reputed  to  have  been  one  of  the  leaders  who 
made  the  crisis  more  significant  and  became  the  great  pro- 
moter of  the  Mahayana  teaching. 

The  terms  need  defining.  Hinayana  means  the  "little  ve- 
hicle," only  fitted  to  carry  a  small  number  on  the  way  to 
salvation,  and  Mahayana  means  "large  vehicle,"  as  a  means 
of  salvation  sufficient  to  accommodate  all  who  would  come. 
Manifestly,  the  name  "Hinayana"  was  given  by  their  oppo- 
nents who  desired  to  call  attention  to  their  own  superior 
doctrine.  But  long  before  these  two  schools  separated  the 
teaching,  which  later  was  to  be  called  Hinayana,  had  devel- 
oped. It  was  based  on  the  teaching  of  the  Buddha,  but  had 
diverged  widely  from  it  at  one  or  two  points.  Gautama  had 
turned  his  back  on  the  gods  of  India  and  constructed  a  sys- 
tem without  worship,  sacrifice,  prayer,  or  any  sense  of  de- 
pendence on  a  higher  power.  He  had  essayed  to  do  the 
impossible — the  need  of  help  in  the  struggle  of  life  and  the 
tendency  to  turn  to  some  being  *who  is  powerful  enough  to 
render  assistance  is  too  strongly  intrenched  in  human  nature 
to  be  thus  eradicated.  Even  in  his  own  lifetime  the  Buddha 
was  raised  to  a  most  exalted  position  by  his  disciples.  They 
came  to  look  upon  him  as  almost  omniscient  and  all-wise, 
ready  to  meet  any  emergency.  He  carried  himself  with  the 
dignity  which  forbade  undue  intimacy.  He  was  a  man  apart 
from  other  men.  Despite  his  democracy,  which  is  un- 
doubted, his  elevation  and  disinterestedness  in  the  ordinary 
things  of  life  cast  an  atmosphere  of  aloofness  about  him, 
which  was  only  increased  by  the  sanctity  which  seemed  nat- 
urally to  belong  to  one  who  was  so  kind  and  pure  and  good. 
He  was  almost  their  god  while  he  journeyed  with  them, 
intent  on  teaching  them  that  there  was  no  need  of  gods. 
Little  wonder  is  it  that  in  the  centuries  after  he  had  passed 
away  the  Buddha  himself  should  have  been  raised  to  the 
position  in  the  spiritual  world  where  men  could  look  for  his 
assistance  and  raise  hands  to  him  in  prayer.  This  is  the 
essence  of  the  Hinayana.  It  became  a  kind  of  theistic  faith, 


200          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

placing  the  Buddha  above  all  the  gods  of  the  land.  Gau- 
tama was  considered  a  sinless  being ;  the  doctrine  arose  that 
he  had  been  born  of  a  virgin,  that  he  was  perfect  in  wisdom 
and  power,  and  that  he  had  been  able  to  perform  wonders 
during  his  life.  The  theory  arose  that  Gautama  was  the 
last  of  a  long  series  of  Buddhas  who  had  preceded  him,  and 
that  there  was  one  yet  to  come,  Maitriya  Buddha,  the  gra- 
cious god  who  would  restore  all  things.  This  is  the  form  of 
Buddhism  which  with  many  differences  prevails  in  Ceylon, 
Burma,  and  Siam,  and  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  Southern 
Buddhism. 

Professor  Rhys  Davids  claims7  that  the  teaching  of  Gau- 
tama in  its  purity  was  not  put  in  practice  outside  a  narrow 
circle  in  his  own  time  and  immediately  following.  Men  are 
in  trouble  and  need  help,  and  no  teaching  which  attempts  to 
dam  up  the  impulse  to  prayer  and  worship  can  succeed  in 
doing  so  very  long ;  the  Nemesis  will  come  and  human  nature 
will  assert  its  inalienable  right  to  seek  after  God  and  claim 
his  protection  and  help.  The  Mahayana,  however,  went  so 
much  farther  than  the  Hinayana  that  it  felt  it  could  point 
the  finger  of  scorn  at  its  less  daring  sister.  When  Bud- 
dhism came  into  contact  with  the  rough  warriors  and  nomads 
from  the  central  Asian  Steppes,  who  came  into  India  about 
the  time  of  Christ,  the  "no-soul"  theory  almost  disappeared. 
It  was  repugnant  to  the  hardy  men  who  were  poles  apart 
from  the  meditative  and  more  languid  dwellers  on  the  hot, 
depressing  plains  of  India.  Among  the  thoughtful  in  all 
the  Eastern  lands  such  a  theory  might  hold  its  own,  and,  in 
fact,  we  do  meet  with  it  to-day,  but  the  people  have  little 
place  for  it,  and  rejoice  in  the  thought  that  they  may  not 
only  go  to  some  god,  but  that  they  are  beings  who  live  and 
have  real  power. 

Much  thought  and  work  must  have  been  put  on  the  system 
of  the  Mahayana  before  it  was  complete.  When  the  cur- 

T  Article,  "Hinayana,"  in  Hastings'  Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and 
Ethics. 


BUDDHISM  201 

tain  is  drawn  we  arc  amazed  by  its  complexity  and  extent. 
A  new  universe  has  been  created  filled  with  spiritual  beings 
and  opening  out  possibilities  to  men  they  had  not  dreamed 
of  even  in  the  Hinayana.  The  salvation  was  all-embracive, 
fitted  to  the  needs  of  men  whether  they  might  enter  the  por- 
tals of  a  monastery  or  not.  Many  schools  of  teaching  arose, 
of  which  we  may  give  only  a  typical  though  widespread  and 
influential  example.  At  the  forefront  of  this  doctrine  was 
the  conception  of  an  Eternal  Being,  or  Deity,  the  very 
Lord  of  the  Universe.  This  being  is  both  a  philosophical 
conception,  called  Dharmakaya,  the  first  of  the  "three  bod- 
ies" of  the  eternal  Buddha,  and  a  more  or  less  personal 
god  of  love,  known  as  Adi-Buddha.  Men  do  not  come  into 
immediate  contact  with  this  ultimate  Being,  but  they  are  not 
left  helpless.  This  Adi-Buddha  has  by  the  power  of  con- 
templation projected  into  existence  five  "Buddhas  of  Con- 
templation" (Dhyani  Buddhas),  and  these  in  turn  have  sent 
out  five  other  beings,  who  are  the  actual  creators  of  the  phys- 
ical universe,  and  these  again  have  their  representatives  in 
the  world  of  men.  We  are  now  living  in  the  fourth  of  the 
worlds  which  have  been  created,  and  our  human  Buddha, 
the  representative  of  the  more  exalted  spiritual  Buddhas, 
is  the  historic  Gautama.  So  in  the  Mahayana  not  only  have 
gods  been  created  to  meet  the  needs  of  men,  but  Gautama 
has  been  relegated  to  a  subordinate  position.  They  pre- 
ferred to  scale  the  ladder  of  speculation  and  make  gods  to 
their  liking  rather  than  remain  true  to  the  historic  Gautama 
and  raise  him  to  the  supreme  place  in  their  pantheon. 

A  new  career  was  opened  up  before  men.  In  the  teach- 
ing of  Gautama  and  the  Hinayana  to  become  an  Arhat  and 
thus  to  enter  Nirvana  was  the  ideal.  Another  idea  had  been 
known,  however,  and  this  proved  useful  to  the  fertile  minds 
of  the  Mahayana  system  makers.  Gautama  had  long  been 
looked  upon  as  one  of  a  series  of  Buddhas,  the  last  of  which, 
the  "coming  one,"  was  Maitriya  Buddha.  Here  was  the 
conception  of  one  yet  to  come,  a  Bodhisattva,  a  "Future 


202  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

Buddha."  In  the  Mahayana  this  idea  was  developed  and 
made  only  second  in  importance  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Eter- 
nal Deity  and  his  manifestations.  Bodhisattva  means  "one 
whose  essence  is  enlightenment,"  but  it  is  used  to  designate 
those  spiritual  beings  who  are  ready  to  enter  the  final  state 
of  Buddhahood,  which  would  mean  separation  from  all  the 
concerns  of  men  here  below,  but  who  refrain  from  doing  so 
for  the  time  being  in  order  that  they  may  be  of  service  to 
all  who  may  appeal  to  them.  There  are  many  of  these  ex- 
alted beings,  some  of  them  widely  revered,  who  are  gods  in 
all  lands  where  the  Mahayana  has  been  carried.  To  wor- 
ship these  Bodhisattvas  now  becomes  the  central  point  in 
the  religious  life  of  the  laymen.  They  have  a  full-fledged 
religion  with  "gods  many  and  lords  many."  And  now  to 
come  back  to  the  new  career  which  was  placed  before  men 
— to  prepare  to  become  a  Bodhisattva  in  the  spiritual  world 
after  we  have  passed  out  of  this  life  is  to  be  the  goal  of 
all  good  men.  Some  progress  can  be  made  in  this  direction 
even  by  laymen  in  this  life,  when  as  Future-Bodhisattvas 
they  may  begin  to  take  the  steps  and  undergo  the  discipline 
necessary  to  the  purifying  of  life  that  the  great  goal  may 
ultimately  be  reached.  The  superiority  of  this  aim  over  that 
of  the  Arhat  is  readily  seen.  The  Arhat  treads  the  path  to 
win  for  himself  release  and  peace;  the  Future-Bodhisattva 
strives  to  fit  himself  to  become  a  helper  of  men,  a  saviour 
to  all  those  in  bondage  and  distress.  Altruism  has  now  be- 
come the  summum  bonum,  with  a  sweep  that  is  universal. 
Not  one  human  being  lies  outside  the  purpose  of  those  who 
look  forward  to  a  life  of  unselfish  service. 

Instead  of  the  lifeless  Nirvana  as  the  goal  of  all  existence 
the  Mahayana  has  substituted  a  paradise  where  the  souls  of 
men  and  women  may  live  in  conscious  blessedness  and  peace. 
The  idea  of  the  soul  has  come  back  and  affects  the  doctrine 
at  several  important  points.  As  might  be  expected,  a  hell 
is  brought  in  for  the  wicked  as  a  heaven  is  for  the  good. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  the  life  in  heaven  or  hell  is  everlast- 


BUDDHISM  203 

ing.  The  haunting  conception  of  Nirvana  will  not  be  com- 
pletely put  down,  and  beyond  the  heavens  and  the  hells — 
for  there  are  numbers  of  each — lies  in  the  distant  haze  the 
land  of  passionless  peace,  where  men  are  lost  in  unconscious 
absorption  in  the  everlasting  nothingness  which  India  can- 
not shake  off. 

It  is  manifestly  impossible  within  the  compass  of  a  single 
chapter  to  do  justice  to  so  complicated  and  multiform  a 
system  as  the  Mahayana.  The  attempt  has  been  made  to 
point  out  two  of  the  lines  of  development,  Mahayana  as  a 
religion  or  devotion,  in  which  spiritual  beings  are  worshiped, 
and  Mahayana  as  a  regimen  or  way  of  life,  in  which  the 
Future-Bodhisattva,  or  saint,  enters  upon  the  path  which  in 
the  end  will  lead  to  a  career  of  unbounded  usefulness  in  the 
spiritual  world.  There  is  still  another,  a  philosophical  devel- 
opment, which  was  hinted  at  when  mention  was  made  of  the 
Dharmakaya,  or  the  first  of  the  three  bodies  of  the  eternal 
Buddha.  This  Dharmakaya,  or  "body  of  the  law,"  is  reality, 
the  actual  substance  or  nature  of  every  being,  gods  or  men, 
in  the  whole  universe.  The  other  bodies,  Sambhogakaya,  or 
"body  of  bliss,"  and  Nirmanakaya,  or  "magical  body,"  are 
manifestations  of  the  ultimate  reality  in  the  world  of  spirit- 
ual beings  and  men.  The  philosophical  problem,  then,  hinges 
on  the  conception  of  Dharmakaya,  or  what  is  reality  ?  One 
school,  that  of  the  Madhyamikas,  makes  Dharmakaya,  or 
reality,  void  or  vacuity.  They  are  the  philosophical  nihilists 
of  Buddhism.  "Everything  is  void,"  is  their  conclusion.  A 
second  school,  that  of  the  Vijnanavadins,  the  idealists  of 
Buddhism,  claims  that  the  only  real  existences  are  thoughts, 
that  thoughts  do  not  stand  for  or  reproduce  any  objective 
reality.  Thoughts  can  think  themselves  without  a  thinker 
or  reference  to  anything  outside  themselves.  It  is  an  eternal 
illusion  that  object  and  subject  exist;  only  thought  has  any 
existence  whatever.  This  philosophical  development  has 
exerted  a  deep  and  lasting  influence  in  all  the  countries  of 
Eastern  Asia  where  Buddhism  was  carried. 


204          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

BUDDHISM  AMONG  THE  PEOPLES 

The  Buddhism  of  Ceylon,  Burma,  and  Siam  is  Hina- 
yana.  The  religion  was  also  carried  in  this  form  to  Annam, 
Cochin-China,  and  Cambodia,  now  parts  of  the  French  em- 
pire in  the  Far  East.  It  also  made  its  way  to  the  island 
world  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies  and  took  root  in  Java,  Bali, 
and  Sumatra.  This  was  long  ago,  for  when  Islam  pene- 
trated the  eastern  archipelago  in  the  sixteenth  century  the 
religion  of  the  Buddha  disappeared.  Driven  out  of  Java, 
those  who  remained  true  to  their  faith  fled  to  the  little 
island  of  Bali,  but  even  there  most  have  become  Saivites  and 
little  Buddhism  is  to  be  found.  It  is  a  question  whether 
the  Mahayana  or  the  Hinayana  was  the  more  prominent  in 
the  islands,  for  both  give  evidence  of  having  been  preached 
successfully.  It  is  exceedingly  interesting  to  find  the  ruins 
of  magnificent  Mahayana  buildings  so  many  hundreds  of 
miles  away  from  the  lands  where  this  form  of  the  faith  has 
had  its  characteristic  growth  and  development.  Differing 
from  the  experience  in  India  proper,  Buddhism,  after  a 
desperate  conflict  with  Hinduism  in  the  lands  of  Farther 
India,  came  out  victorious  and  remains  in  possession  of  the 
field  to  this  day. 

But  is  it  really  the  religion  of  the  people?  Outwardly  it 
would  seem  so.  All  these  lands  are  filled  with  the  para- 
phernalia of  the  Buddhist  religion :  temples  and  monasteries, 
pagodas  and  images  are  to  be  found  everywhere.  Each 
country  has  its  own  characteristic  forms,  but  each  gives 
ample  evidence  on  every  hand  of  its  Buddhist  allegiance. 
The  monks  are  there,  and  services  and  festivals  are  held, 
to  which  the  people  come  in  gala  dress,  enjoying  the  occa- 
sions to  the  full.  With  all  this,  however,  the  hold  of  Bud- 
dhism on  the  inner  lives  of  the  people  is  precarious.  A 
man's  inner  convictions  are  revealed  in  the  time  of  crisis, 
when  sorrow  and  suffering  and  loss  stare  him  in  the  face. 
What  is  his  religion  then?  Which  way  does  he  turn  for 

0 


BUDDHISM  205 

help  and  comfort  ?  The  testimony  from  each  of  these  south- 
ern lands  is  that  it  is  not  to  the  monks  and  the  Buddha,  but 
to  the  old  spirits  and  sprites  of  the  animism  which  was  theirs 
before  the  coming  of  Buddhism.  The  new  religion  did  not 
succeed  in  driving  out  the  old  fears,  and  they  have  persisted 
through  the  centuries  despite  the  superior  teaching  which 
should  have  supplanted  them.  And  have  we  not  the  right  to 
expect  this  of  one  of  the  higher  religions? 

It  is  also  unfortunate  that  the  monks  have  to  so  large 
an  extent  lost  the  confidence  of  the  people.  Of  course  there 
are  many  exceptions.  Worthy  and  good  men,  pure  of  life 
and  motive,  are  to  be  found,  but  the  general  reputation  the 
monks  have  is  that  they  lead  idle,  useless  lives  and  have  not 
succeeded  in  overcoming  the  temptations  of  the  flesh,  which 
was  a  matter  of  such  deep  concern  on  the  part  of  Gautama. 
In  Burma  the  religion  has  penetrated  more  deeply  into  the 
life  of  the  people  than  in  any  other  of  the  Hinayana  coun- 
tries. This  is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  education 
has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  monks,  who  thus  are  able  to 
instill  Buddhist  ideas  into  the  minds  of  the  people  while 
they  are  young  and  impressionable.  It  is  also  customary  in 
Burma  for  a  young  man  to  give  a  certain  time  to  monastic 
life.  These  features  of  the  religious  life  of  Burma  have 
succeeded  in  keeping  the  people  in  close  touch  with  their 
religious  teachers.  In  Siam  the  king  is  the  chief  patron  of 
Buddhism.  The  heads  of  the  order  must  be  nominated  by 
the  king,  who  honors  the  monks  and  supports  them  lav- 
ishly. The  present  king,  an  enlightened  and  progressive 
man,  educated  in  England,  has  taken  his  religious  task  seri- 
ously and  is  doing  all  he  can  to  make  the  religion  a  power  in 
the  kingdom.  In  Ceylon  and  Burma  there  is  a  reform  move- 
ment, made  up  of  cultured  people  who  desire  to  go  back 
to  the  simplicity  of  the  practice  and  teaching  of  the  Buddha 
and  to  interpret  the  faith  more  in  accord  with  Western 
culture  and  the  teachings  of  the  schools.  They  have  preach- 
ing halls  with  sermons  and  the  recitation  of  a  creed. 


206          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Whether  there  is  enough  that  is  distinctive  in  the  faith  to 
hold  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men  and  women  as  they 
emerge  into  the  strong  current  of  modern  life  with  all  its 
problems  is  a  grave  question,  which  can  only  be  settled  by 
the  test  of  time  and  experience. 

In  the  north  Buddhism  has  penetrated  China,  Korea,  and 
Japan.  The  faith  here  is  of  the  Mahayana  type,  and  is  fre- 
quently called  Northern  Buddhism.  But  besides  these  coun- 
tries, the  religion  has  taken  deep  root  in  the  great  elevated 
plateau,  the  hinterland  of  Asia.  Beginning  its  career  in 
Tibet,  it  has  pushed  farther  and  farther  to  the  north  and 
northeast  until  one  arm  has  swung  around  and  come  in  con- 
tact with  Chinese  Buddhism  in  the  capital  city  of  Peking. 
It  also  is  to  be  found  in  the  little  Himalayan  states  between 
India  and  Tibet.  So  distinct  is  this  form  of  Buddhism  that 
it  deserves  special  treatment.  It  has  been  given  the  name 
of  Lamaism,  from  the  monks,  who  are  called  "lamas," 
although  that  term  belongs  rightly  to  the  abbots,  meaning 
as  it  does  "superior"  or  "better."  Tibetan  history  begins 
with  the  coming  of  Buddhism  into  the  country  in  the  seventh 
century  A.  D.  It  came  in  through  two  wives  of  an  able 
chieftain,  one  from  Nepal  and  the  other  from  China,  both  of 
which  countries  had  received  Buddhism  centuries  before. 
The  peculiarity  which  at  once  attracts  attention  is  the  doc- 
trine of  incarnation,  known  nowhere  else  in  Buddhism.  It 
did  not  become  a  fully  accepted  doctrine  until  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Since  then  it  has  been  held  that  the  Bo- 
dhisattva  Avalokitesvara  (also  Padmapani)  was  incarnate 
in  the  Dalai  Lama,  the  ruler  of  the  country.  Other  Grand 
Lamas  have  their  seats  in  different  sections,  all  claiming  to 
be  incarnations  of  Bodhisattvas,  but  none  can  approach  the 
Dalai  Lama  in  earthly  majesty  because  of  his  possession  of 
the  scepter  of  the  land.  When  the  Dalai,  or  "Great," 
Lama  dies  the  rule  is  placed  in  the  hand  of  some  young  boy 
who  gives  evidence  (by  strange  and  varied  signs)  that 
Avalokita  has  taken  up  his  abode  in  him.  He  is  then  ac- 


BUDDHISM  207 

claimed  as  the  new  incarnation,  and  he  holds  sway,  reli- 
giously and  politically,  until  his  death. 

The  gods  and  spiritual  beings  of  Lamaism  form  a  pop- 
ulous and  strange  pantheon.  All  the  Buddhas  and  Bodhi- 
sattvas  of  the  Mahayana  are  there.  The  name  of  Amitabha 
begins  to  appear,  the  being  who  is  destined  to  take  first 
place  in  all  eastern  Asia.  Besides  all  these  there  are  "heal- 
ing" Buddhas  and  every  kind  of  tutelary  deity,  kings  of  the 
four  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  Yama  the  judge  of  the 
dead,  and  finally  spirits  and  demons,  and  saints  who  have 
passed  over  into  the  great  beyond.  Idolatry  as  well  as 
polytheism  has  run  mad,  and  images  of  all  these  beings  are 
displayed  and  worshiped  everywhere.  The  center  of  the 
religion  is,  of  course,  the  monastic  life.  There  are  said  to 
be  over  three  thousand  monasteries,  or  Lamasaries,  in  Tibet, 
the  largest  in  the  capital,  Lhassa,  containing  as  many  as  ten 
thousand  monks.  Waddell8  emphasizes  the  terrible  effect 
of  Buddhist  monasticism  on  Tibet.  The  country  has  stead- 
ily declined  in  power  and  numbers,  the  population  now  not 
being  a  tenth  part  of  its  former  size.  He  declares  there  is 
"one  monk  for  every  three  of  the  entire  lay  community, 
including  the  women  and  children.  .  .  .  The  population  is, 
presumably  as  a  consequence  of  overmonasticism,  steadily 
drifting  toward  extinction." 

Buddhism  has  raised  the  people  out  of  certain  depths  of 
savagery,  but  the  notorious  impurity  of  the  monks  and  the 
hardness  and  cruelty  of  nature  and  man  in  this  forbidding 
land  have  done  little  to  inculcate  high  ideals  of  life.  The 
idea  of  recompense  in  heavens  and  hells  and  the  fear  of 
evil  spirits  has  taken  strong  hold  until  the  religion  is  one 
of  fear  and  terror.  All  the  poor  layman  wants  of  religion 
is  to  secure  charms  against  these  spirits.  It  has  become 
pure  magic.  He  repeats  sacred  formulas;  he  writes  them 
on  paper  and  swallows  them ;  he  inscribes  them  on  cloth  and 

"Article,  "Lamaism/'  in  Hastings'  Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and 
Ethics. 


208  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

allows  them  to  flutter  in  the  wind;  he  devises  so-called 
"prayer  cylinders"  and  mechanically  grinds  out  the  charmed 
petitions  as  he  walks  or  works;  he  even  harnesses  them  to 
water-wheels  and  thus  nature  assists  him  in  his  "devotions." 
Such  is  Buddhism  at  its  worst,  in  a  land  exhausted  physi- 
cally and  spiritually  by  priest-craft,  for  which  there  seems 
little  hope  without  the  coming  of  a  salvation  which  shall 
save  them  from  themselves  and  the  strange  devisings  of 
their  hearts. 

Buddhism  probably  reached  China  in  the  first  century 
A.  D.,  but  it  did  not  spread  rapidly  until  the  fourth  century, 
when  the  Chinese  were  allowed  to  become  monks.  One  of 
the  most  remarkable  events  was  the  coming  of  Bodhidharma, 
the  Patriarch  of  Indian  Buddhism,  who  took  up  his  abode 
in  China  in  the  year  526.  Buddhism  was  not  well  suited  to 
China  and  has  never  ceased  to  be  a  kind  of  exotic.  The 
idle  life  of  the  monks  who  performed  no  productive  labor 
was  utterly  irrational  to  the  practical  Chinese,  and  the  idea 
of  celibacy  was  repugnant  to  a  people  who  believed  as  much 
as  they  believed  anything  that  not  to  be  married  and  have 
sons  was  a  sin  of  the  deepest  dye.  The  religion  has  suffered 
a  number  of  bitter  persecutions.  In  the  eighth  century 
twelve  thousand  monks  and  nuns  were  compelled  to  come 
back  into  ordinary  life  and  behave  themselves  like  other 
folks.  In  the  ninth  century  four  thousand  six  hundred 
monasteries  were  destroyed  and  more  than  two  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  members  of  the  order  were  compelled 
to  become  secular.  But  Buddhism  could  not  be  driven  out 
and  remains  a  force  in  the  land  to  this  day. 

The  reason  for  this  lies  undoubtedly  in  the  fact  that  it 
brought  into  the  life  of  the  people  elements  which  would 
otherwise  be  wanting.  A  spiritual  world,  gods  who  were 
human  and  full  of  compassion,  rewards  in  another  life,  the 
mediation  of  the  monks  who  stand  between  the  gods  and 
men — all  these  features  of  the  Mahayana  made  an  irresistible 
appeal  to  the  Chinese  and  explain  the  presence  of  Buddhism 


BUDDHISM  209 

in  China.  The  pantheon  is  not  so  spacious  as  that  of  Tibet, 
but  the  Chinese  Buddhists  worship  Buddhas,  Bodhisattvas, 
saints,  and  patriarchs,  and  tutelary  deities.  Gautama  holds 
a  high  place,  though  Amitabha  is  first  in  the  popular  thought, 
as  he  rules  the  western  paradise,  to  which  they  desire  to  be 
admitted  through  his  mercy.  Kwanyin,  whom  we  met  in 
Tibet  as  Avalokitesvara,  has  now  been  transformed  into  a 
female  divinity  and  is  worshiped  as  the  goddess  of  mefcy. 
The  pagodas  are  everywhere  and  have  become  a  part  of 
the  nature  superstition  of  the  people.  The  people  come  to 
the  monks  for  all  kinds  of  assistance,  even  the  rich  and  edu- 
cated on  occasion.  Yet  with  all  that,  the  people  are  not  to 
be  counted  as  Buddhists,  only  the  monks  and  nuns  should 
be  reckoned  as  such  in  any  proper  sense.  The  Chinese  come 
to  Buddhism  because  of  needs  otherwise  unmet,  but  they  do 
not  exactly  belong  to  the  religion  by  inward  allegiance  and 
appropriation. 

Buddhism  expanded  eastward  from  China  by  way  of 
Korea.  In  Korea  the  religion  took  deep  hold  and  for  cen- 
turies was  the  dominant  religious  influence  in  the  country. 
In  A.  D.  1392  a  new  dynasty  came  to  the  throne  which 
proved  to  be  unfriendly  to  the  Buddhists.  The  monks  were 
excluded  from  the  capital  city  and  were  not  encouraged  in 
any  place.  As  a  result  the  immense  establishments  have 
dwindled  until  the  aspect  of  Buddhism  is  that  of  decrepi- 
tude. Dr.  H.  Hackmann  speaks  of  the  picture  of  Korean 
Buddhism  as  "on  the  whole  a  very  dull  and  faded  one."' 
Temples  and  monasteries  are  still  found,  exemplifying  some 
unique  artistic  traits  peculiar  to  the  country,  but  for  the 
most  part  their  best  days  seem  to  be  in  the  past.  An  effort 
is  now  being  made  by  Japanese  Buddhists  to  put  new  life 
into  the  old  forms,  and  only  time  will  show  what  hope  there 
may  be  in  this  movement.  The  Korean  people  as  a  whole 
have  reverted  to  the  old  animism  of  pre-Buddhist  days  and 

9  Buddhism  as  a  Religion,  p.  257.    (Probsthain,  London,  1910.) 


210  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

seem  far  more  intent  on  exorcising  demons  than  on  paying 
reverence  to  some  Buddha  or  Bodhisattva. 

We  do  not  know  just  when  the  new  faith  reached  Japan. 
In  A.  D.  552  an  embassy  from  the  king  of  Korea  gave  a 
formal  introduction  to  the  doctrine,  which  was  to  some  ex- 
tent already  known.  By  the  time  the  great  imperial  minister 
Shotoku  Taishi  died  in  A.  D.  621  Buddhism  may  be  said  to 
have  been  acclimated.  Shotoku  embraced  the  faith  and  gave 
himself  to  wholehearted  advocacy  of  the  new  movement. 
Far  more  than  in  China  and  Korea  the  faith  of  the  Buddha 
has  entered  into  the  life  of  the  nation  and  the  people.  It 
cannot  be  understood  out  of  its  relations  with  the  whole 
course  of  the  nation's  history.  For  a  thousand  years  it  was 
the  religion  of  the  common  people  and  the  upper  classes  as 
well.  But  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  a  reaction  set  in 
and  Buddhism  has  more  or  less  ceased  to  be  the  power  it 
had  been  in  the  lives  of  the  educated  and  the  gentry.  It 
remained  what  it  is  to-day,  the  religion  of  the  people. 
Divided  into  a  number  of  powerful  sects,  in  some  cases 
very  different  from  each  other,  the  religion  keeps  up  its 
forms  and  even  its  life,  and  is  seeking  to  assimilate  the 
various  factors  of  the  new  age  which  has  dawned.  Again 
it  is  too  early  to  estimate  the  strength  inherent  in  these  new 
developments.  Very  unfortunately,  the  leadership,  with 
notable  exceptions,  is  not  measuring  up  to  the  demands  of 
the  hour  and  leaves  much  to  be  desired  in  personal  character 
and  influence.  The  average  monk  is  an  ignorant  man,  not 
highly  thought  of,  because  of  indolence,  the  reputation  for 
immorality,  and  charges  of  graft  which  have  in  recent  years 
been  proved  against  certain  influential  leaders.  Yet  in  all 
probability  Buddhism  is  more  progressive  and  in  a  more 
flourishing  condition  in  Japan  than  in  any  other  Buddhist 
country. 

It  is  a  far  call  from  Ceylon  to  Japan ;  it  is  even  farther 
from  Gautama  to  present-day  Buddhism.  The  remarkable 
part  of  it  all  is  that  we  should  still  continue  to  call  by  the 


BUDDHISM  211 

name  of  the  Buddha  a  religion  which  is  so  varied  and  con- 
tains such  contradictory  elements  in  its  various  sects  and  in 
the  different  countries  of  its  adoption.  What  the  Buddha 
taught  is  denied,  and  what  he  repudiated  is  practiced  by  those 
who  would  never  admit  the  charge  of  unorthodoxy.  They 
speak  of  these  changes  as  developments  which  lay  in  germ 
in  the  mind  of  the  great  master.  One  might  be  inclined  to 
doubt  the  validity  of  this  claim  and  yet  justify  the  title 
"Buddhism"  to  all  the  forms  the  religion  has  assumed.  All 
recognize  that  Gautama  was  the  human  founder  of  the  faith 
of  which  historically  they  are  a  part.  All  believe  that  his 
ideas  were  living  and  germinal,  and  that  it  is  possible  to 
live  in  general  agreement  with  the  inner  meaning  of  his 
purpose  even  though  the  actual  doctrines  may  seem  to  con- 
tradict much  that  he  taught.  They  find  sorrow  in  the  world 
as  he  did  and  are  seeking  to  cure  it;  they  are  quite  willing 
to  follow  his  ethical  demands  as  far  better  than  anything 
they  had  known;  they  look  to  him  as  the  pure  example  of 
loving  service  and  find  it  difficult  to  measure  up  to  his  un- 
selfish life.  In  all  these  regards  they  are  the  followers  of 
Gautama  and  consider  it  an  honor  to  be  known  by  his  name, 
so  lasting  is  the  influence  of  a  life  nobly  lived. 

Most  unfortunately,  practice  has  fallen  far  behind  pre- 
cept. That,  of  course,  is  true  in  all  religions,  but  here  bar- 
riers exist  which  cannot  be  removed.  The  doctrine  has 
always  been  above  the  heads  of  the  people,  whether  in  the 
teaching  of  Gautama  or  in  its  later  developments.  What 
has  been  given  to  them  is  far  removed  from  the  sublime 
teaching  of  the  schools,  into  the  depths  of  which  few  could 
enter.  Monasticism  has  been  a  bar  to  all  progress,  and  Bud- 
dhism has  always  brought  the  monk  and  the  monastery.  It 
has  produced  a  deep  cleavage  in  human  life  between  the 
religious  man  and  the  laity,  and  it  has  never  succeeded,  ex- 
cept in  a  few  cases,  in  producing  the  type  of  character  at 
which  it  aimed.  Monasticism  has  hung  like  a  pall  over 
people  who  needed  to  see  the  light,  and  who,  if  they  did  not 


212  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

sec  it  in  the  lives  of  their  religious  leaders,  would  never  see 
it  at  all. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

T.  W.  Rhys  Davids,  Buddhism  (London,  first  edit.  1877,  many  sub- 
sequent editions).  The  best-known  manual  on  the  early  teaching. 

Kenneth  J.  Saunders,  The  Story  of  Buddhism  (London,  1916). 

Kenneth  J.  Saunders,  Gotama  Buddha  (New  York,  1920). 

H.  Hackmann,  Buddhism  as  a  Religion  (London,  1910).  The  best 
volume  on  the  developments  in  the  faith  in  the  various  lands  of 
its  adoption. 

Henry  Clarke  Warren,  Buddhism  in  Translations  (Cambridge,  1909). 
Translations  of  significant  passages  from  the  early  literature. 

George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religionsf  Vol.  I,  Chaps.  V, 
VII,  XII. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  RELIGION   OF   THE  CHINESE 

THE  EARLY  RELIGION 

WHAT  the  original  religion  of  the  Chinese  was  has  been 
the  subject  of  much  controversy.  Before  the  existence  of 
any  records  which  have  come  down  to  us  several  types  of 
religious  belief  had  been  formulated,  and  the  question  is, 
Which  of  them  came  out  of  the  earliest  religious  attitude? 
A  study  of  the  Chinese  character  for  the  Supreme  Being 
would  indicate  that  the  idea  back  of  it  was  monotheistic,  and 
undoubtedly  there  has  been  the  conception  from  an  early 
day  of  a  Being  raised  high  above  all  others  in  the  spiritual 
world.  At  the  same  time  evidences  of  animistic  concep- 
tions are  so  numerous  at  every  period  that  it  is  impossible  to 
believe  the  Chinese  were  ever  without  them.  Probably  the 
most  reasonable  conclusion  is  that  reached  by  Dr.  W.  E. 
Soothill,1  who  is  inclined  to  believe  that  animism  first  pre- 
vailed, but  that  long  before  we  have  any  records  the  recog- 
nition of  one  Supreme  Being  over  a  real  universe  arose,  so 
that  we  have  two  conceptions,  a  lower  and  a  higher,  through 
the  long  course  of  the  history  of  Chinese  religion. 

We  are  on  safe  ground  when  we  speak  of  the  religion  of 
the  Chinese.  It  is  commonly  stated  that  there  are  three 
religions  in  the  country,  not  to  mention  Mohammedanism, 
which  has  always  been  looked  upon  as  strange  and  foreign. 
These  are  Confucianism,  Taoism,  and  Buddhism.  But  un- 
derneath them  all  and  expressing  itself  through  them  all  is  a 
religious  attitude  and  life  which  existed  for  centuries  before 
the  formal  religions  arose  and  which  has  not  been  changed 

xThe  Three  Religions  of  China,  chap  V.  (Hodder  &  Stoughton, 
London,  1913.) 

213 


214  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

essentially  by  them.  The  thoroughgoing  conservatism  of  the 
Chinese  people  is  seen  in  as  complete  a  manner  here  as  it 
would  be  possible  to  imagine.  The  gaze  of  the  Chinese  has 
been  directed  backward  for  millenniums,  and  all  their  ideals 
are  in  the  past.  We  live  in  the  period  when  for  the  first 
time  in  their  recorded  history  these  lovers  of  antiquity  have 
come  to  realize  that  their  only  hope  lies  in  a  change  of  front. 
They  are  asking  for  all  the  West  may  have  to  offer.  What 
the  ultimate  effect  will  be  no  one  can  even  guess.  It  may  be 
safe  to  say  that  Chinese  nature  will  not  be  fundamentally 
changed — it  is  too  tough  of  fiber  for  that — but  what  the 
outcome  of  this  eager  willingness  to  learn  of  the  younger 
nations  will  be  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  questions 
before  us  to-day. 

The  most  characteristic  form  which  religion  has  taken  in 
China  is  crudely  animistic.  All  nature  and  all  its  parts  are 
possessed  of  spirits,  good  and  bad,  strong  and  weak.  They 
are  to  be  found  everywhere,  on  the  mountains,  among  the 
trees,  in  the  ground,  and  under  the  water.  Everything  that 
happens  is  accounted  for  by  the  action  of  spirits.  Sickness  is 
caused  by  demons  within  the  body  which  must  be  exorcised. 
A  child  drowns  not  by  any  natural  cause,  but  because  a  fiend- 
ish spirit  caught  the  child  from  under  the  water  and  drew 
him  down.  These  spirits  flit  about  through  the  air,  invisible 
but  exceedingly  real.  Streets  must  be  made  crooked  because 
these  imps  move  in  straight  lines  and  can  be  stopped  in  their 
wild  career  by  a  wall.  Houses  must  be  so  constructed  that  a 
solid  wall  shall  be  opposite  every  gate  and  door  and  window. 
The  whole  life  of  the  people  is  governed  by  their  fear  of 
these  dangerous  beings,  and  much  of  their  religion  consists  in 
attempts  to  drive  them  away.  Exorcism,  then,  plays  a  large 
part  in  this  low  and  yet  all-prevalent  superstition,  and  many 
are  its  forms.  The  spirits  are  divided  between  those  that 
are  good  and  benevolent  (shen)  and  the  evil-minded 
(kwei).  To  secure  the  assistance  of  a  powerful  shen  is  the 
best  means  of  chasing  off  the  harmful  kwei.  The  sun  is  a 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         215 

shen  of  the  highest  order,  and  to  secure  his  cooperation  is  to 
have  the  benefit  of  the  most  powerful  influence  in  the  con- 
test. Everything  connected  with  the  sun  is  efficacious.  By 
a  subtle  magic  the  peach  blossom,  because  it  appears  as  the 
harbinger  of  the  spring,  when  the  sun  again  assumes  control 
of  nature,  is  an  omen  of  good.  The  actual  blossoms  are 
replaced  by  red  paper,  which  has  the  same  value.  Out  of  the 
peach  tree,  on  the  same  principle,  a  number  of  native  rem- 
edies are  concocted.  So,  again,  the  blood  of  the  cock  may 
ward  off  danger,  and  cocks  are  used  as  charms  and  in  the 
making  of  medicines,  because  the  cock  crows  as  the  herald 
of  the  rising  of  the  sun!  The  tiger  because  of  some  hazy 
connection  with  the  sun  may  bring  good  fortune.  And  nat- 
urally light  and  heat  are  agencies  of  beneficence.  Bonfires, 
fire-crackers,  torches,  lanterns,  candles,  all  kinds  of  noises, 
scorching  and  cauterizing  the  skin — whatever  suggests  or  is 
derived  from  fire  may  be  used  to  bring  good  luck  or  prevent 
misfortune.  This  is  only  a  slight  suggestion  of  the  many 
forms  the  superstition  takes.  Whatever  else  he  may  be  reli- 
giously the  Chinese  is  a  believer  in  spirits  and  in  the  necessity 
of  exorcism.  He  may  be  ashamed  of  his  belief,  but  he  has 
recourse  nevertheless  to  the  exorcists  when  he  gets  into  a 
tight  place.  He  wants  at  least  to  be  on  the  safe  side  in  a 
world  so  strange  and  fearsome.  It  has  colored  all  his 
thoughts  and  has  kept  him  down  to  a  level  far  below  what 
one  has  the  right  to  expect  of  so  cultivated  a  people. 

There  is  another  side  to  this  animistic  attitude  which  is 
even  more  characteristic.  It  is  ancestor-worship.  Men  par- 
ticipate with  nature  in  being  possessed  of  spirits  which 
make  them  what  they  are.  Even  a  living  man,  like  the  gov- 
ernor of  a  province  who  has  done  well  by  his  people,  may  be 
deified  and  be  accorded  religious  rites  with  no  sense  of  in- 
congruity. But  especially  men  are  worshiped  after  their 
death.  It  takes  the  form  of  the  worship  of  ancestors  and 
is  so  universally  practiced  and  so  implicitly  believed  in  that 
it  has  been  looked  upon  as  the  very  center  and  nerve  of 


216          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Chinese  religion.  Death  in  no  sense  breaks  the  bond  be- 
tween the  members  of  a  family.  The  family  consists  of  its 
dead  as  well  as  its  living  members,  and,  strangely  enough 
to  us,  the  dead  members  are  more  important  than  the  living. 
All  the  arrangements  of  the  household  must  be  made  with 
the  well-being  and  the  comfort  of  the  dead  primarily  in 
mind.  It  is  carried  to  the  extent  that  it  becomes  an  intoler- 
able burden.  A  most  extensive  ritual  is  connected  with  the 
worship.  The  funeral  must  be  as  elaborate  and  expensive 
as  the  family  can  stand;  frequently  they  go  beyond  the 
bounds  of  reason  and  plunge  into  debt.  The  sacrifices  are 
carefully  prescribed,  and  the  utmost  care  is  taken  to  see  that 
the  mourning  and  all  the  other  rites  are  carried  out  to  the 
letter.  The  choice  of  a  site  and  the  time  for  a  burial  are  of 
tragic  importance,  and  frequently  large  sums  are  squandered 
on  Fung-Shui,  or  "wind  and  water,"  doctors,  to  determine 
the  lucky  spot  for  the  grave  and  the  propitious  time  for  the 
interment.  It  may  be  long  delayed,  and  China  presents  the 
spectacle  of  thousands  of  unburied  coffins  kept  above  ground 
for  weeks  and  months  by  this  kind  of  hocus-pocus.  It  is  a 
bondage  from  which  the  Chinese  should  be  freed,  but  no- 
where is  the  influence  of  immemorial  custom  more  evident 
the  world  over  than  in  the  beliefs  and  practices  connected 
with  death  and  burial. 

The  ideas  that  lie  back  of  the  practices  are  the  important 
thing.  Filial  piety  is  the  first  of  the  Chinese  virtues.  It  is 
extended  beyond  the  grave  because  the  dead  parent  con- 
tinues to  be  as  much  a  part  of  the  family  as  before.  To  all 
the  inducements  which  existed  while  the  parent  was  living 
to  show  him  reverence  and  honor  is  added  that  of  the  un- 
canny and  mysterious  fact  that  the  soul  has  passed  out  into 
the  unknown  land  of  the  shades  and  may  possess  powers  and 
influence  even  more  potent  and  surely  more  incalculable 
than  he  possessed  in  life.  To  the  motive  of  respect  must  be 
added  that  of  fear.  What  might  not  happen  to  the  family 
if  the  sacrifices  were  neglected  and  the  shade  should  be 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         217 

deprived  of  the  support  which  it  has  a  right  to  expect? 
Above  all  the  other  duties  that  of  being  married  and  having 
sons  in  order  to  continue  the  sacrifices  down  through  the 
generations  is  the  most  urgent.  Mencius,  the  great  follower 
and  interpreter  of  Confucius,  declared,  "Three  things  are 
unfilial,  and  having  no  sons  is  the  worst."  This  deeply  in- 
grained conviction  has  driven  the  Chinese  to  two  prac- 
tices, polygamy  and  adoption.  The  effect  has  been  that 
woman  has  been  looked  upon  as  of  little  value  in  herself; 
only  as  she  fulfills  her  function  and  becomes  the  mother  of 
sons  is  she  considered  worthy  of  honor.  In  a  real  sense  a 
man's  possessions  belong  to  his  ancestors,  so  no  living  man 
has  the  right  to  dispose  of  what  in  the  final  analysis  is  not 
his.  So  a  daughter  marrying  out  of  the  family  gets  prac- 
tically nothing — it  belongs  to  the  ancestors  and  must  not  be 
taken  from  them.  Shall  we  call  this  whole  attitude  one  of 
worship  or  something  of  lessor  significance?  Some  have 
said  that  it  is  of  the  same  nature  as  the  respect  we  show  our 
deceased  loved  ones  and  friends  and  should  not  be  taken 
too  seriously,  but  when  the  matter  is  seen  in  all  its  rela- 
tionships there  is  little  wonder  that  the  large  majority  of 
first-hand  investigators  have  no  hesitation  in  calling  it  wor- 
ship in  the  most  real  sense.  As  Professor  J.  J.  M.  DeGroot 
puts  it,  a  Chinese  "may  renounce  all  other  gods,  but  his  an- 
cestors he  will  renounce  last  and  least  of  all."1  It  is  not  an 
exalted  type  of  worship  and  is  carried  on  all  too  often  to 
obtain  material  advantage  and  welfare.  As  such  it  holds  out 
no  hope  that,  so  long  as  it  remains  worship,  it  can  ever  be- 
come an  uplifting  factor  in  Chinese  life. 

The  all-prevailing  animism  and  ancestor  worship  which 
have  been  described  do  not  complete  the  round  of  early 
Chinese  religion.  There  is  a  state  religion,  based  on  the 
same  principles,  but  with  a  very  different  development.  It 
shows  the  mind  of  the  Chinese  in  a  far  better  light.  Again 
going  back  to  the  days  before  records  were  kept,  the  ani- 

a  Religion  of  the  Chinese,  p.  86.    (Macmillan,  New  York,  1910.) 


218  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

mistic  attitude  of  mind  laid  hold  on  the  greater  objects  of 
nature,  personified  them  more  or  less,  and  raised  them  to  a 
dignity  not  possessed  by  the  other  objects  of  worship.  The 
heavenly  bodies,  the  earth  and  its  subdivisions,  and,  above 
all,  the  incomparable  heavenly  sphere  became  the  great  gods 
of  China.  These  objects  were  not  supposed  to  be  worshiped 
by  the  people  themselves.  They  were  restricted  to  their  own 
ancestors.  The  august  worship  of  the  great  gods  became 
the  official  duty  of  government  officials,  of  the  governors 
and  the  emperor.  To  the  last  alone  was  reserved  the  wor- 
ship of  High  Heaven,  the  supreme  religious  act  of  Chinese 
religion.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  in  each 
case  the  emperor  performed  the  rites  not  for  his  own  sake 
but  on  behalf  of  all  the  people.  He  is  looked  upon  as  the 
father  of  those  over  whom  he  is  set  to  rule,  and  as  a  father 
he  worships  for  them. 

The  climax  of  the  whole  system  is  the  worship  of  Heaven, 
performed  by  the  emperor  at  the  capital  city  on  the  occasion 
of  the  longest  night  of  the  year.  With  beautiful  suggestive- 
ness  it  is  performed  that  night  because  it  is  when  the  forces 
of  cold  and  darkness  in  the  world  have  done  their  worst, 
the  time  when  again  the  shortening  days  cease  to  become 
shorter  and  the  kindly  influences  of  the  sun  begin  again  to 
regain  power  and  give  the  first  promise  of  the  coming  glory 
of  spring  and  summer.  Here  under  the  open  sky,  with  no 
shelter  from  the  elements,  upon  a  circular  terraced  marble 
platform,  is  performed  one  of  the  most  remarkable  religious 
sacrifices  known  in  the  whole  range  of  religious  history. 
There  is  a  sublimity  about  the  ritual  which  betokens  a  high 
conception  of  its  significance.  Prayers  are  offered  which 
with  little  change  might  be  used  in  Christian  churches.  The 
worship  is  offered  to  Heaven,  or  Shang-ti.  The  term  "Tien" 
is  also  used.  Some  have  thought  that  Shang-ti  contains 
more  of  personal  implication  than  Tien,  like  the  distinc- 
tion we  frequently  make  between  "God"  and  "Providence," 
but  others  consider  the  two  terms  identical.  So  lofty  is  the 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         219 

conception  that  "Shang-ti"  has  been  generally  agreed  upon 
as  the  word  by  which  the  Christian  conception  of  "God" 
should  be  translated  into  Chinese.  There  is  nothing  un- 
worthy in  the  conception  in  any  way.  It  gives  evidence  of 
the  existence  from  the  earliest  times  of  a  noble  and  uplifting 
view  of  God  and  of  what  he  requires  of  men.  What  of  this 
state  religion  now  that  China  has  ceased  to  be  an  empire 
and  has  declared  a  republic?  To  make  such  a  declaration 
is  relatively  easy;  it  is  a  far  different  matter  to  change  the 
fundamental  bent  of  a  people's  mind.  So  ingrained  is  the 
paternal  idea  that  the  so-called  "president"  of  the  republic 
has  twice  boldly  dared  to  act  as  the  "father"  of  his  people 
and  conduct  the  worship  of  Shang-ti  as  aforetime.  He  may 
even  do  so  again  in  years  to  come,  since  he  is  still  the 
representative  of  the  people,  for  in  China  even  the  emperor 
has  always  held  sway  as  the  Son  of  Heaven  by  virtue  of 
popular  sufferance. 

CONFUCIUS  AND  His  CONTRIBUTION 

Confucius  lived  from  B.  C.  551  to  478.  These  dates  may 
be  depended  on  as  accurate,  though  scholars  are  far  more 
conservative  now  than  formerly  relative  to  Chinese  dates 
before  Christ.  According  to  Chinese  chronology  the  country 
was  ruled  by  the  model  emperors,  Yao,  Shun,  and  Yii,  about 
twenty-two  hundred  years  before  our  era.  It  is  not,  how- 
ever, until  we  come  to  the  period  of  the  Chao  Dynasty, 
B.  C.  1122-256,  that  definite  dates  can  be  assigned  with  any 
confidence.  Confucius  lived  in  this  period,  when  China 
was  divided  into  many  small  states,  frequently  at  war  with 
each  other  and  owning  not  much  more  than  nominal  alle- 
giance to  the  weak  authority  of  the  central  government. 
This  unsatisfactory  condition  lasted  until  the  Chao  Dynasty 
went  to  pieces,  to  be  succeeded  for  a  short  but  memorable 
period  by  the  Chin  Dynasty  (B.  C.  256-205).  The  one  great 
ruler  during  these  years  was  Shi  Huang-ti,  who  has  been 
called  the  Napoleon  of  China.  He  abolished  the  feudal 


220  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

form  of  government  and  effectively  established  a  central- 
ized empire  in  the  form  which  lasted  down  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Manchu  power  and  the  setting  up  of  the  repub- 
lic in  1911.  He  is  also  to  be  remembered  as  the  builder  of 
the  Great  Wall,  which  was  intended  to  be  a  barrier  to  pro- 
tect the  empire  from  the  encroachments  of  the  wild  no- 
madic tribesmen,  always  watching  for  the  opportunity  to 
sweep  down  on  the  rich  plains  to  the  south.  He  is  also 
remembered  by  the  Chinese  with  execration  because  in  vain 
conceit  he  attempted  to  destroy  utterly  the  classical  literature 
and  by  so  doing  inaugurate  a  new  era  which  should  begin 
with  himself  and  his  period.  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing 
that  the  name  "China"  is  said  to  be  derived  from  the  name 
of  this  dynasty,  the  Chin. 

In  the  midst  of  the  unsettled  days  when  China  was  lan- 
guishing for  want  of  a  strong  central  authority,  when  war- 
fare occupied  the  attention  of  the  distracted  people  instead 
of  agriculture,  when  education  was  neglected  and  plague, 
pestilence,  and  famine  stalked  through  the  land,  Confucius 
was  born.  His  birthplace  was  in  the  state  of  Lu,  in  the 
western  part  of  the  modern  province  of  Shantung.  His 
father  was  an  old  man  of  seventy  when  he  married  a  young 
woman,  who  soon  became  the  mother  of  the  sage.  His  lot 
as  a  young  boy  was  not  easy,  his  father  dying  when  his  little 
son  was  only  three.  We  are  able  to  say  with  certainty  that 
Confucius  was  married  at  nineteen  and  had  one  son.  His 
married  life  cannot  be  called  a  success.  He  ceased  to  live 
with  his  wife  after  a  short  time  and  we  hear  little  more  of 
her.  His  son  appears  at  intervals  in  the  story  and  seems 
to  have  become  one  of  his  disciples.  Early  in  his  career 
Confucius  was  appointed  keeper  of  the  state  granaries,  then 
guardian  of  the  common  lands.  For  a  considerable  time  he 
was  wholly  devoted  to  teaching  and  labored  at  a  new  edition 
of  the  ancient  odes  and  historical  records.  When  he  was 
about  fifty  he  became  a  magistrate  in  his  native  state  and 
was  promoted  until  he  became  what  we  should  call  the  min- 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         221 

ister  of  justice.  His  tenure  did  not  last  long,  but  it  was 
not  on  account  of  his  failure  or  unfaithfulness.  In  fact, 
he  did  his  work  only  too  well,  with  the  result  that  the  state 
of  Lu  advanced  to  a  position  of  commanding  importance 
among  the  states.  The  prince  of  a  neighboring  state  was 
full  of  envious  resentment  and  determined  to  end  the  prog- 
ress being  made  by  Lu.  He  devised  a  plan  as  diabolical  as 
it  was  successful.  He  sent  the  prince  of  Lu  a  present  of 
some  magnificent  racing  horses  and  a  bevy  of  beautiful 
dancing  girls.  It  was  too  much  for  the  prince  of  Lu.  He 
lost  all  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  people  and  gave  him- 
self to  pleasure  and  indulgence.  Confucius  protested,  but  to 
deaf  ears.  He  lost  his  position  and  was  compelled  to  see 
the  work  of  his  hand  dissipated  before  his  eyes. 

The  sage  was  so  convinced  that  the  experiment  he  had 
made  in  his  native  state  might  prove  of  permanent  value  in 
any  state  which  would  earnestly  apply  his  principles  that 
he  spent  the  next  period  of  more  than  twelve  years  wan- 
dering among  the  feudal  states  trying  to  induce  one  prince 
after  another  to  let  him  try  his  schemes  and  bring  peace  and 
order  out  of  the  chronic  confusion.  He  never  succeeded, 
but  with  all  his  discouragements  never  lost  heart  and  be- 
came pessimistic.  He  was  convinced  until  the  end  that  he 
possessed  the  secret  of  statecraft  and  could  make  any  king- 
dom prosperous  by  the  sincere  cooperation  of  the  ruler  in  the 
application  of  his  principles.  But  for  one  reason  or  another 
he  failed  to  convince  a  single  prince  and  was  compelled  to 
abandon  his  purpose  and  return  to  his  native  state  and  his 
early  home.  There  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life  as  a 
private  citizen,  surrounded  by  an  enlarging  circle  of  admir- 
ing disciples,  and  completing  his  literary  labors.  He 
edited  the  classical  literature  which  already  had  a  his- 
tory in  his  time,  adding  but  one  comparatively  insig- 
nificant portion,  the  Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,  from  his 
own  pen.  There  in  the  year  B.  C.  478,  at  the  ripe  old  age 
of  seventy-three,  Confucius  died  and  was  buried.  His  tomb 


222          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

is  well  marked  at  the  present  time,  is  visited  by  thousands 
of  pilgrims  each  year,  and  is  destined,  one  may  surely  say, 
to  increase  in  interest,  not  only  among  the  Chinese  but  among 
men  of  every  nation  as  they  come  to  recognize  the  noble 
example  and  the  high  ideals  represented  by  the  sage. 

For  a  hundred  years  Confucius  did  not  receive  the  rec- 
ognition which  his  disciples  felt  was  his  due.  Then  arose 
Mencius,  the  second  greatest  of  China's  sages,  and  by  his 
advocacy  and  enthusiastic  admiration  raised  his  master 
to  a  pedestal  from  which  he  has  never  been  dislodged.  In- 
creasingly Confucius  has  been  looked  upon  as  the  embod- 
iment of  everything  good  in  China,  and  the  hold  he  has  been 
able  to  secure  on  the  imagination  and  conscience  of  the 
Chinese  is  as  complete  as  could  well  be  conceived.  The 
temporary  neglect  which  has  followed  the  recent  inrush 
of  ideas  from  the  West  cannot  in  the  end  divorce  the  Chi- 
nese from  their  admiration  for  one  who  more  than  any  other 
has  made  China  great,  and  who  must  play  a  large  part  in  the 
making  of  the  China  which  is  to  be.  He  understood  the 
mind  of  China,  and  that  mind  will  not  be  fundamentally 
altered.  With  all  the  changes — and  many  are  needed  to 
bring  China  into  line  with  the  needs  of  the  modern  world — 
the  thought  of  Confucius  must  play  its  part  in  so  far  as  it 
is  the  expression  of  the  genius  of  the  Chinese  mind. 

What  was  his  contribution?  Very  little  religiously.  All 
that  has  been  described  as  the  early  religion  of  the  people 
was  in  full  force  in  his  day  as  it  is  in  our  own  time.  He 
did  not  condemn  it,  he  did  not  criticise  it,  he  did  not  add  to 
it — he  simply  took  it  for  granted.  His  temper  of  mind  was 
essentially  practical;  he  seemed  always  to  be  averse  to  any 
discussion  of  spiritual  or  purely  philosophical  matters.  He 
claimed  to  be  agnostic  concerning  the  next  life  and  the 
world  of  the  gods.  His  mind  was  immersed  in  the  affairs 
of  this  life,  with  conduct,  the  development  of  character,  the 
relations  of  man  with  man,  with  the  state  and  all  the  com- 
plicated affairs  of  government.  On  these  he  considered  he 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         223 

had  an  opinion  worth  while,  of  which  it  would  be  well  for 
men,  from  the  ruler  to  the  humblest  peasant,  to  take  earnest 
heed.  He  was  a  political  reformer,  and  this  meant  for 
Confucius  the  organization  of  society  in  accordance  with 
high  ethical  principles.  Along  with  this  went  the  most 
careful  attention  to  the  culture  of  the  individual  self,  the 
development  of  the  ideal  or  superior  man.  Confucius 
claimed  that  the  principles  which  guided  him  in  all  his 
advice  came  down  out  of  the  past  and  were  as  old  as  the 
eternal  hills.  He  maintained  that  he  was  not  an  originator 
but  a  transmitter,  one  who  had  discovered  a  mine  of  wis- 
dom in  the  practice  of  the  ancients,  who  stood  out  in  his 
mind  as  the  paragons  of  all  excellence.  To  conserve  what 
had  been  handed  down  was  to  him  the  sum  of  all  virtue. 
Of  all  preposterous  things  the  thought  that  anything  new 
could  be  compared  with  advantage  with  the  old  and  the 
tried  was  the  height  of  absurdity.  This  tenacious  conserva- 
tism, which  was  rooted  and  grounded  in  his  deepest  nature, 
has  had  its  lasting  influence  on  Chinese  thought  and 
practice. 

The  Confucian  ideal  of  the  superior  man  finds  its  best 
exemplification  in  Confucius  himself,  though  he  in  his  mod- 
esty makes  no  claim  to  personal  attainment  of  the  ideal  he 
has  described.  It  is  the  picture  of  a  dignified  and  grave 
gentleman,  somewhat  stooped  by  study  and  earnest  thought, 
holding  himself  in  perfect  and  dignified  control,  allowing 
himself  no  levity  and  others  no  familiarity,  ready  to  offer 
advice  to  all  and  seeking  by  the  power  of  example  and  ad- 
monition to  lead  others  in  the  straight  and  narrow  way. 
There  is  nothing  of  the  free-and-easy  so  common  in  the 
West.  Every  act  and  every  relationship  must  be  carefully 
regulated  according  to  well-thought-out  principles.  A  rather 
unattractive  combination,  would  be  the  verdict  of  the  typical 
man  in  our  unconventional  life.  And  so  it  seems  as  we 
think  of  the  effect  it  had  even  in  Confucius'  own  day.  It 
must  have  been  somewhat  difficult  for  Confucius'  wife  to 


224  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

be  compelled  to  get  along  with  a  companion  in  whom  every 
impulse  to  spontaneity  was  suppressed  as  a  temptation  of 
the  devil.  The  one  or  two  conversations  which  are  reported 
between  the  sage  and  his  son  while  still  in  his  tender  years 
show  not  the  slightest  comprehension  of  boy  nature.  No 
intimacy  could  grow  up  between  father  and  son  on  the  basis 
of  such  scrupulous  formality.  He  who  would  regulate 
every  action,  even  to  the  position  to  be  taken  in  bed,  could 
scarcely  win  a  boy's  heart.  Yet  Confucius  himself  from  the 
time  he  was  a  little  boy  had  preferred  playing  at  etiquette 
and  ceremonies  to  the  boisterous  play  of  other  boys.  We 
may  smile  as  we  think  of  a  man  punctiliously  molding  his 
life  in  accordance  with  a  rigid  scheme  which  seems  to  us  to 
be  devoid  of  living  interest  and  practical  benefit,  but  such 
was  Confucius,  and  we  cannot  withhold  our  admiration 
when  we  realize  that  it  was  not  a  vain  whim,  but  the  result  of 
careful  thought  and  calculated  to  bring  out  of  life  its  very 
best.  He  sincerely  desired  to  be  a  good  man  whose  ex- 
ample might  be  followed  with  only  beneficial  results  by  all 
with  whom  he  came  into  contact. 

In  the  estimation  of  Confucius  human  nature  is  naturally 
good.  The  function  of  rules  and  regulations  is  to  guide  the 
development  of  the  individual  in  the  right  channels  and 
thus  prevent  the  deterioration  which  might  ensue  if  the 
wrong  course  should  be  followed.  A  man  must  depend  on 
his  own  unaided  powers  to  achieve  maturity  of  character, 
but  this  was  not  so  hard,  because  of  his  natural  goodness. 
He  must  seek  to  develop  by  the  unfolding  of  his  own  inner 
nature  and  thus  be  true  to  himself.  Confucius  was  com- 
pelled to  recognize  that  the  task  was  easier  for  some  than 
for  others.  Some  seem  to  possess  the  necessary  knowledge 
and  ability  almost  intuitively,  others  learn  easily,  but  must 
nevertheless  apply  themselves  to  learn,  still  others  are  able 
to  acquire  knowledge  with  difficulty,  while  there  are  those 
who  will  not  learn,  either  through  indifference  or  willful 
ignorance.  But  whatever  condition  may  confront  a  man,  the 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         225 

admonition  of  the  sage  is  to  make  the  very  most  of  himself. 
Religion,  it  is  quite  evident,  did  not  enter  into  his  scheme 
of  human  life.  Very  little  prayer  would  suffice  and  sacri- 
fice had  only  a  subjective  influence.  He  confessed  that  he 
could  not  enter  into  the  meaning  of  the  yearly  sacrifice  to 
Shang-ti.  He  did  not  object  to  ancestor-worship,  because  it 
encouraged  and  enforced  the  obligation  of  filial  piety,  and 
filial  conduct  was  the  corner  stone  of  his  system  of  rela- 
tionships. 

But  with  all  his  interest  in  the  development  of  individual 
character  Confucius  was  primarily  interested  in  society  and 
the  state.  He  believed  that  man  could  not  live  alone,  but 
that  he  had  relationships  which  were  necessary  and  inev- 
itable. These  relationships  came  to  assume  such  impor- 
tance that  it  would  almost  seem  that  society  and  the  state 
were  more  important  than  the  individuals  of  which  they 
were  compassed.  He  worked  out  a  scheme  intended  to 
cover  all  the  relations  of  human  life.  They  are  called  the 
Five  Relations,  those  of  Father  and  Son,  Ruler  and  Sub- 
ject, Husband  and  Wife,  Elder  and  Younger  Brother,  and 
Friend  and  Friend.  The  significant  thing  about  these 
couplets  is  that  in  each  case,  save  the  last,  the  first  named 
is  looked  upon  as  the  superior  and  the  last  the  inferior,  sub- 
servient to  the  other.  Human  life  is  thus  stereotyped  in  a 
rigid  balance  between  those  who  command  and  those  who 
obey.  By  inherent  right  the  father,  the  ruler,  the  husband, 
and  the  elder  brother  possess  rights  and  privileges  not  to  be 
questioned  by  the  other  party.  It  may  have  rendered  society 
static  and  immovable,  which  was  Confucius'  idea,  but  it 
has  been  responsible  for  gross  injustice  and  abuse.  When 
one  possesses  all  the  rights  and  privileges  and  the  other  none 
that  are  recognized,  society  is  lopsided  and  the  full  develop- 
ment of  all  its  members  becomes  impossible. 

The  state  was  Confucius'  hobby.  All  his  theories  were  to 
be  measured  by  their  value  in  relation  to  the  state.  He  felt 
that  if  the  sage  and  the  sovereign  could  be  combined  in  one 


226  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

person  all  would  be  well.  Since  out  of  the  classical  litera- 
ture all  wisdom  could  be  drawn,  there  was  obvious  advan- 
tage in  the  sovereign  being  able  to  delve  in  the  ancient  lore 
and  learn  its  wisdom  for  himself.  One  of  his  greatest  doc- 
trines in  statecraft  was  the  power  of  personal  example.  The 
welfare  of  the  state  depended  more  upon  the  rectitude  of  the 
ruler  than  on  any  other  factor.  In  fact,  the  dependence  was 
almost  absolute,  according  to  many  statements  in  the  ancient 
literature.  Evil  in  the  ruler  means  eventually  a  ruined  coun- 
try, and  integrity  and  probity  is  the  first  and  sure  cure  for  a 
country's  ills.  It  is  almost  pathetic  the  lengths  to  which  this 
principle  was  believed  to  be  applicable.  With  a  great  truth 
at  its  center  it  laid  too  heavy  a  responsibility  on  a  single 
pair  of  shoulders  and  failed  to  take  into  account  the  per- 
versity of  human  nature  no  matter  how  good  an  example 
might  be  set.  Confucius  believed  in  reciprocity  as  the  basis 
of  all  relationships.  He  would  have  men  take  care  not  to 
do  to  others  what  they  would  not  want  done  to  themselves. 
It  has  been  called  the  Negative  Golden  Rule.  It  is  good  and 
wholesome  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  still  it  is  negative.  That  is 
the  difficulty  with  the  whole  system.  It  lacks  in  the  positive 
heroic  features  found  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Con- 
fucius is  dignified  and  cautious  and  circumspect.  He  fails 
to  throw  out  a  challenge  which  by  its  sheer  boldness  and 
audacity  drives  a  man  to  dare  the  impossible  and  persist 
when  everything  is  against  him. 

But  Confucianism  is  also  a  religion.  Temples  in  which 
the  tablets  of  Confucius  and  his  most  noted  disciples  are  dis- 
played are  to  be  found  in  all  the  centers  and  worship  is  per- 
formed before  them  as  before  the  tablets  of  ancestors.  The 
sage  has  in  recent  years  been  canonized  and  recognized  as 
one  of  the  authorized  objects  of  divine  worship.  An  attempt 
has  been  made  since  the  Revolution  in  1911  to  have  the 
worship  made  the  state  religion,  but  the  movement  came  to 
nothing.  It  is  not  along  this  line  that  the  influence  of  Con- 
fucius is  to  be  felt  in  the  coming  years.  His  work  was  to 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         227 

provide  China  with  a  moral  code.  He  was  a  sincere  patriot 
and  will  continue  to  live  in  the  estimation  of  his  people  as 
the  worthy  example  of  one  who  saw  what  China  might  be 
and  bent  all  his  energies  to  bring  that  about.  All  the  more 
is  he  to  be  honored  in  that,  with  no  reward  and  unappre- 
ciated except  in  his  own  circle,  he  never  lost  faith  in  his 
country  and  gladly  gave  his  all  for  its  best  good. 

LAOCIUS  AND  TAOISM 

"Laocius"  is  the  Latinized  form  of  Lao-tse,  just  as  "Con- 
fucius" is  of  Kung  Fu-tsu,  the  philosopher  Kung.  We 
know  little  about  his  life.  He  was  born  in  B.  C.  604,  about 
a  half  century  before  Confucius.  Once  the  two  met  while 
the  younger  man  was  on  his  wanderings  from  state  to  state, 
but  they  could  not  understand  each  other — they  were  so 
utterly  different  in  their  whole  outlook  on  life.  Laocius  is 
said  to  have  been  the  keeper  of  the  archives  at  the  imperial 
court  of  the  Chao  Dynasty.  He  became  more  and  more  dis- 
couraged as  he  saw  everything  going  to  decay,  and  finally 
resigned  and  retired.  But  still  he  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  dismay  caused  by  the  warring  of  the  feudal  states  and 
the  supineness  of  the  central  power,  so  he  determined  upon 
an  even  more  drastic  step.  He  started  off  into  exile  and 
reached  a  noted  pass  in  the  mountains  where  the  keeper  in- 
duced him  to  put  down  in  writing  the  philosophy  which  he 
had  worked  out  and  which  would  otherwise  be  lost.  As  a 
result  he  remained  long  enough  to  put  into  written  form  the 
Tao  Teh  King,  a  writing  containing  about  five  thousand  Chi- 
nese characters,  which  he  intrusted  to  the  keeper  of  the 
pass  and  then  passed  on  and  disappeared.  This  altogether 
too  picturesque  account  can  scarcely  be  received,  but  it  is  all 
we  know  of  the  story  of  a  very  original  thinker. 

The  Tao  Teh  King  has  been  translated  into  English  a 
number  of  times,  but  so  difficult  is  it  to  understand  and  ren- 
der into  coherent  language  that  the  various  translations  dif- 
fer almost  hopelessly.  The  difficulty  begins  in  the  name 


228          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

itself.  Beginning  with  the  last  word,  King  means  "writing" 
or  "classic/'  Teh  means  "duty,"  "virtue,"  or  "human  respon- 
sibility," but  what  does  Tao  mean?  Many  definitions  have 
been  given,  very  divergent  and  in  some  cases  most  confus- 
ing. The  shortest  equivalent  has  been  given  as  the  "way." 
Another  is  "nature,"  and  still  another  "Providence."  It  has 
also  been  conceived  of  as  the  "order  of  the  universe,"  "the 
rotation  of  the  seasons,"  and  even  "time."  It  may  be  that 
Doctor  SoothiU's  statement  is  about  as  helpful  as  any  that 
can  be  found.  "Tao,  then,  may  be  considered  as  the  eter- 
nal and  ubiquitous  impersonal  principle  by  which  the  uni- 
verse has  been  produced  and  is  supported  and  governed."8 
The  aim  of  the  work  seems  to  be  to  indicate  that  human 
duty  consists  in  imitating  the  Tao  or  "way"  of  the  universe. 
Man  then  becomes  a  follower  of  the  heavens  in  their  ma- 
jestic and  sublime  progress.  To  learn  Tao  and  imitate  it  is 
the  good  to  be  sought.  Now,  what  Laocius  saw  as  he  looked 
out  on  nature  was  quiet,  humility,  and  self-effacement, 
placidity,  emptiness,  freedom  from  effort.  It  was  the  passiv- 
ity of  the  processes  of  nature  which  impressed  him,  and 
man  was  to  follow  nature  as  closely  as  he  could.  He  must 
live  a  life  of  "inward  spontaneity";  he  must  not  be  head- 
strong or  self-willed;  he  must  be  possessed  by  a  "spirit  of 
inanition."  He  must  not  even  teach  his  doctrines ;  they  must 
shine  for  themselves.  Is  there  any  wonder  that  Confucius, 
the  apostle  of  strenuous  endeavor,  and  Laocius,  the  preacher 
of  the  gospel  of  inactivity,  should  have  been  incompre- 
hensible to  each  other?  But  Confucius  has  won  the  day, 
and  China  has  gone  with  him  and  not  with  Laocius.  But 
the  quietist  has  had  his  imitators,  too,  men  who  retired 
into  the  mountains  alone  and  gave  themselves  to  the  disci- 
pline of  nature.  They  thought  they  might  by  so  doing  be- 
come etherealized  and  even  enter  the  company  of  the  gods. 
They  fasted,  believing  that  a  saint  needed  no  food,  and 

•The  Three  Religions  of  China,  p.  8. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         229 

became  sadly  emaciated,  and  when  this  did  not  have  the 
desired  effect  they  sought  drugs  and  elixirs  to  induce  the 
spiritualized  condition  they  sought.  They  thought  that  by 
absorbing  the  good  in  nature  they  might  live  long  and 
even  achieve  immortality.  They  practiced  breathing  exer- 
cises to  drink  in  the  good  influences  of  the  atmosphere. 
These  strange  ascetics  did  not  grow  in  number  nor  thrive 
greatly.  Buddhism  was  abroad  in  the  land  and  had  a  more 
positive  aim  and  a  better  organized  monastic  discipline.  But 
these  seekers  after  Tao,  the  true  Taoists,  had  some  influence 
in  China  and  helped  to  bring  in  the  belief  in  immortality, 
which  had  been  sadly  lacking  despite  the  ancestor  worship 
which  was  constantly  in  touch  with  another  world. 

But  this  is  not  what  we  know  as  Taoism  to-day.  The 
modern  variety,  which  still  goes  under  the  old  name,  is  the 
most  silly  jumble  of  superstitions  that  can  anywhere  be 
found.  It  is  the  worst  side  of  Chinese  religion.  There  is 
a  priesthood,  and  Taoist  temples  exist  everywhere.  The- 
oretically, the  business  of  the  priests  is  to  help  the  people 
live  in  accord  with  Tao,  but  practically  it  is  magic  run  mad. 
Soothsaying  in  every  imaginable  form,  by  the  almanac  and 
combinations  of  lines,  by  magical  religious  ceremonies,  in- 
cantations, and  what  not,  is  carried  on  by  a  priesthood  which 
has  become  skillful  in  working  on  the  superstitious  fears  of 
the  people  and  by  so  doing  keeping  them  in  subjection  and 
terror.  The  beginnings  of  Taoism  as  a  formal  religion  go 
back  to  one  named  Chang  Tao-ling,  who  was  born  in  A.  D. 
34.  He  discovered,  so  it  is  said,  the  elixir  of  immortality, 
founded  a  priesthood  and  hierarchy,  and  set  up  a  state  in 
the  far  western  province  of  Sze-chuan,  which  was  put  down 
with  much  bloodshed.  Descended  from  this  ambitious  priest 
a  line  of  so-called  Taoist  popes  has  come  down  through  the 
centuries  to  our  own  time.  They  have  for  many  years  been 
situated  far  away  in  an  inaccessible  mountain  retreat  in  the 
province  of  Kiang-si.  The  "pope"  does  not  exercise  the 
kind  of  authority  his  name  would  indicate,  but  he  is  looked 


23o  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

upon  as  the  spiritual  center  of  a  system  which  in  its  sublime 
beginnings  gave  promise  of  a  better  sequel  than  the  poor 
excuse  of  a  religion  it  is  to-day. 

CHINESE  BUDDHISM 

Buddhism  exists  in  China  to-day  only  because  it  meets  a 
felt  need.  The  Chinese  are  practical  and  Confucius  minis- 
tered to  that  bent  with  such  insight  and  wisdom  that  the 
whole  life  of  the  people  has  been  built  up  around  his  ideals. 
He  did  not  feel  the  need  of  more  than  the  meagerest  amount 
of  spiritual  influence  and  believed  that  could  be  supplied  out 
of  the  religious  life  which  already  existed.  But  he  was  mis- 
taken. The  Chinese  have  deep  spiritual  longings  and  capac- 
ity for  mystical  religion  which  many  are  not  likely  to  appre- 
ciate. Taoism  so  soon  descended  to  the  level  of  quackery 
that  all  it  could  do  was  to  trade  on  the  superstitious  fears  of 
the  people.  But  still  there  was  an  unreached  depth  to  the 
Chinese  heart  which  nothing  in  China  had  been  able  to  touch. 
This  was  the  opportunity  of  Buddhism.  Coming  in  its 
Mahayana  form  with  the  assurance  of  being  able  to  bring 
men  into  vital  contact  with  the  spiritual  world,  the  hearts 
of  many  Chinese  were  touched.  There  is  no  other  explana- 
tion of  the  career  of  Buddhism  in  China,  where  it  has  per- 
sisted despite  the  bitterest  kind  of  persecution.  The  pres- 
ence of  a  million  Buddhist  monks  and  nuns  to-day  speaks 
eloquently  of  the  hold  of  the  religion  on  the  Chinese  mind 
and  heart. 

These  monks  and  nuns  are  scattered  widely  over  the  coun- 
try. They  are  to  be  found  in  little  temples  in  the  cities  and 
villages,  but  here  the  conditions  are  not  ideal.  The  contempt 
in  which  the  Buddhist  monk  is  held  in  China  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  largely  by  the  conduct  of  these  men,  who  are 
in  the  world  and  also  unfortunately  of  the  world.  Their 
lives  are  not  an  example  worthy  of  emulation  and  have 
brought  discredit  to  the  whole  brotherhood.  We  are  as- 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         231 

sured  that  many  of  the  monks  themselves  deplore  the  con- 
dition. They  would  not  for  a  moment  risk  their  reputation 
in  such  company  amid  such  surroundings.  To  them  Bud- 
dhism is  a  gospel  to  be  sincerely  followed.  They  betake 
themselves  to  the  monasteries  where  ideals  are  high  and 
where  laxity  is  not  tolerated.  In  such  retreats  they  find 
others  likeminded  and  are  able  to  give  themselves  uninter- 
ruptedly to  meditation  and  worship.  Here  are  pure  souls 
seeking  emancipation,  who  resist  wrong-doing  and  lewdness 
as  they  would  a  pestilence,  and  who  are  reaching  out  in  every 
way  they  know  how  to  find  the  light. 

The  monks  are  divided  into  various  schools  or  sects.  It 
is  a  difficult  subject,  on  which  it  has  been  hard  to  secure 
correct  information.  Many  of  the  monks  themselves  are 
not  intelligent  and  add  to  the  confusion.  There  have  been 
ten  principal  schools  of  thought,  with  subdivisions.  Four 
of  the  ten  schools  no  longer  play  any  part.  The  six  remain- 
ing schools  fall  into  two  essentially  different  groups,  and 
between  the  two  the  difference  is  "profound  and  radical." 
The  members  of  the  first  group  are  the  adherents  of  Ch'an 
tsung,  Ch'an  meaning  "meditation,"  and  tsung  "school"  or 
"sect."  Doctor  Joseph  Edkins  calls  them  the  "esoteric 
schools."  They  made  inwardness  the  one  needed  quality, 
so  meditation  was  the  true  fulfillment  of  the  Buddhist  ideal. 
This  school  was  founded  by  the  Patriarch  Bodhidharma. 
He  opposed  the  use  of  the  sacred  scriptures  and  all  outward 
ritual.  The  "inward  look"  was  sufficient.  The  attempt  was 
made  to  empty  the  consciousness  of  every  idea.  It  was  to 
be  a  subjective  experience  with  no  objective  content;  it  was 
pure  abstraction.  Bodhidharma  was  called  the  "Wall- 
Gazer,"  from  his  habit  of  looking  intently  at  a  blank  wall  as 
he  sought  to  divest  his  mind  of  thought  and  make  it  as 
blank  as  the  wall  itself.  Everything  outward  was  consid- 
ered superfluous,  and,  in  the  older  writings,  even  the  dis- 
tinction between  right  and  wrong  was  held  to  be  the  imper- 
fection of  a  lower  standpoint  above  which  meditation  would 


232  THE  RELIGIONS  OF  MANKIND 

lift  one.  A  monk  thus  becomes  indifferent  to  everything. 
This  school  was  split  up  into  five  subdivisions,  each  of  which 
became  a  school  or  sect.  They  do  not  vary  greatly,  though 
one,  the  Lin  Chi,  took  the  lead  and  spread  all  over  China 
and  even  into  Japan,  where  we  shall  meet  it  under  a  dif- 
ferent name.  The  second  group,  comprising  five  of  the  ten 
original  schools,  oppose  the  absolute  subjectivism  of  the 
Ch'an  school  and  teach  the  value  of  objective  content  in  one's 
practice,  the  importance  of  ritual  and  ceremonies,  and  incul- 
cate the  reading  of  the  sacred  books.  There  are  differences 
between  them,  but  the  important  characteristic  is  the  com- 
mon ground  which  they  take  in  opposing  the  negative  theory 
of  their  rivals.  The  divergent  views  which  are  expressed 
by  western  students  of  the  life  in  the  monasteries  would  indi- 
cate that  much  investigation  is  necessary  to  get  at  the  real 
facts.  The  charge  that  moral  laxity  is  prevalent  and  that 
spiritual  life  is  at  a  low  ebb  is  met  by  the  statement  that 
while  that  may  be  the  case  here  and  there,  the  general  rule 
is  that  real  moral  earnestness  and  spiritual  aspiration  exist 
in  the  majority  of  these  retreats.  The  very  fact  that  a  num- 
ber of  the  monks  themselves  feel  that  they  have  as  a  class 
been  misunderstood  and  maligned  should  lead  the  candid 
student  to  give  them  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  until  a  more 
thorough  investigation  has  been  made. 

Buddhism  is  also  represented  among  the  people  in  that 
they  come  to  the  temples  and  have  recourse  to  the  monks. 
They  know  nothing  of  the  distinction  between  the  schools. 
They  are  taught  that  there  are  gods,  the  loving  Amida  and 
the  merciful  Kwan-yin,  who  will  hear  their  prayers  and 
receive  their  sacrifices.  They  are  also  told  that  there  is  a 
heaven  of  bliss  which  they  may  attain  and  dreadful  hells 
which  they  may  escape  by  throwing  themselves  on  the  mercy 
of  these  benevolent  beings.  This  is  sufficient.  There  is  no 
message  like  that  in  the  other  religions ;  it  answers  the  crav- 
ing and  the  fear  in  their  hearts.  They  do  not  throw  over 
cneir  other  religious  practices  in  thus  coming  to  a  Buddhist 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  CHINESE         233 

temple.  It  has  been  said'  that  the  several  religions  of  China 
answer  to  moods  in  the  Chinese  soul.  Confucianism  makes 
plain  their  duty,  Taoism  ministers  to  their  superstitious 
fears,  and  Buddhism  opens  up  the  spiritual  world  and  gives 
them  the  promise  of  future  blessedness.  Buddhism  has  also 
accommodated  itself  to  ancestor  worship.  It  offers  prayers 
for  the  dead  and  adds  its  comfort  to  the  friends  and  rela- 
tives who  are  concerned  about  the  welfare  of  their  departed 
in  the  next  world.  Buddhism  exists  in  China  also  in  many 
lay  communities  or  secret  societies,  about  which  not  much 
is  known.  The  members  try  to  assist  each  other  on  the 
road  to  salvation.  The  monastic  idea  is  not  insisted  on,  but 
the  five  moral  commandments  of  the  Buddha  must  be  kept. 
In  spite  of  persecution  these  societies  are  very  numerous  at 
the  present  time,  showing  the  hunger  which  exists  for  the 
message  of  a  spiritual  religion. 

Like  everything  in  China,  the  outward  aspect  of  Bud- 
dhism is  dingy  and  run-down.  Here  and  there  repairs  have 
been  made  and  at  places  extensive  alterations  have  been 
undertaken,  but  in  general  it  is  the  need  of  renewing  which 
strikes  the  eye  of  the  visitor.  But  when  this  has  been  said 
one  must  hasten  to  express  his  unbounded  admiration  at  the 
artistic  sense  and  the  eye  for  the  appropriate  which  have 
been  displayed  in  the  choice  of  temple  and  monastery  sites. 
Whether  on  the  rock-bound  island  of  Puto,  where  the  waves 
are  never  still,  or  the  Little  Orphan  island  which  raises  its 
sharp  crest  far  above  the  waters  of  the  mighty  Yang-tse 
which  surround  it,  or  the  lovely  stillness  of  the  shaded  crest 
of  Kushan  Mountain  near  Foochow,  it  is  always  the  same. 
By  an  unerring  instinct  the  pioneers  of  Buddhism  in  China 
found  the  places  of  beauty  and  claimed  them  for  the  prac- 
tice of  religion.  The  Chinese  may  be  practical  and  material- 
istic, but  this  is  only  half  the  tale.  There  is  a  depth  to  their 
nature  which  Buddhism  has  touched,  but  which  still  re- 

*  W.  J.  Clennell,  The  Historical  Development  of  Religion  in  China, 
p.  13.    (Fisher  Unwin,  London,  1917.) 


234  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

mains  unsounded — a  love  of  beauty  and  a  craving  after  the 
things  of  the  spirit.  This  is  the  true  China,  and  some  day 
China  is  to  come  to  her  own. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

J.  J.  M.  De  Groot,  The  Religion  of  the  Chinese  (New  York,  1910). 
One  of  the  clearest  of  all  manuals. 

W.  E.  Soothill,  The  Three  Religions  of  China  (London,  1913). 
Needed  to  correct  certain  statements  made  by  De  Groot. 

R.  F.  Johnston,  Buddhist  China  (New  York,  1913).  Especially  val- 
uable on  present-day  Buddhism. 

Miles  M.  Dawson,  The  Ethics  of  Confucius  (New  York,  1912). 
Translations  with  running  comment. 

George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  Vol.  I,  Chaps.  I-IV. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  RELIGIONS   OF  JAPAN 

SHINTO 

JAPAN  received  her  civilization  from  China.  It  is  not 
known  when  the  influence  began  to  be  felt,  but  the  process 
was  complete  by  the  end  of  the  seventh  century  of  our  era. 
About  everything  which  goes  to  make  up  the  life  of  a  people 
came  to  Japan  from  across  the  sea,  from  the  mother  country 
of  all  Far  Eastern  culture.  By  way  of  the  peninsula  of 
Korea  these  influences  were  flowing  in  for  several  centuries 
until  in  the  end  Japan  had  entered  the  stream  of  history, 
and  her  course  can  be  followed  step  by  step  from  that  time 
to  our  own.  The  cultivation  of  the  silk- worm,  the  language 
and  literature  of  China,  the  ethical  system  of  Confucius  and 
the  religion  of  the  Buddha — all  these  and  much  else  came  in 
and  transformed  Japan  into  a  civilized  country.  Not,  then, 
for  the  first  time  in  her  history  did  Japan  in  the  nineteenth 
century  show  an  eager  willingness  to  receive  from  other 
peoples  what  was  necessary  for  her  to  take  her  place  by  the 
side  of  the  progressive  nations  of  the  world.  She  was  only 
doing  what  she  had  done  before,  thus  proving  her  willing- 
ness to  learn  from  others  whenever  it  is  to  her  advantage 
to  do  so.  But  by  the  side  of  this  characteristic  must  be 
placed  another  which  is  just  as  important  if  we  are  to  un- 
derstand the  meaning  of  Japanese  life  and  civilization.  On 
everything  which  Japan  has  ever  received  from  the  outside 
she  has  not  failed  to  put  her  own  stamp.  The  sign-manual 
of  Japan  is  indelibly  attached  to  all  she  produces,  making 
it  her  own  unique  output.  There  must  be,  then,  a  very 
distinctive  and  tenacious  Japanese  racial  fiber,  which,  while 
assimilating  with  avidity  all  that  may  be  offered,  succeeds 

235 


236  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

in  giving  it  a  character  which  no  one  can  mistake.  At  no 
point  is  this  to  be  seen  to  better  advantage  than  in  Japanese 
religious  development.  This  makes  it  incumbent  to  study 
with  care  the  religious  life  of  the  people  before  the  coming 
of  religion  from  China. 

The  early  religion  is  known  as  Shinto.  This  is  itself  a 
Chinese  word,  or  two  words,  both  of  which  we  have  met 
before.  Shin  is  the  same  as  the  Chinese  Shen,  which  means 
"good  spirits,"  while  to  is  the  same  as  tao,  the  "way,"  as  it 
may  be  translated  for  short.  The  religion,  then,  is  the  "way 
of  the  Good  Spirits,"  or  the  "way  of  the  Gods."  The  equiv- 
alent name  in  pure  Japanese  is  Kami-no-Michi,  Michi  mean- 
ing "way"  or  "road,"  no  being  the  possessive,  and  Kami 
meaning  the  "deities"  or  "gods."  The  word  Kami  is  the 
clue  to  the  whole  system.  It  denotes  that  which  is  above, 
any  power  or  influence  which  can  accomplish  what  man  can- 
not prevent.  It  is  something  he  must  look  up  to  as  possess- 
ing power.  There  are  many  Kami,  presiding  over  all  the 
phases  of  life.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  as  in  all  other  countries 
the  earliest  form  of  religion  in  Japan  was  nature-worship. 
The  cult  was  exceedingly  simple.  Unpainted,  unadorned 
wooden  shrines  were  the  centers  of  worship.  No  images 
were  to  be  found  in  the  early  day,  though  the  presence  of 
the  spirits  was  indicated  by  fluttering  pieces  of  notched 
paper.  A  gong  above  the  entrance  could  be  sounded  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  spirits  to  the  coming  of  worshipers. 
Lustrations  preceded  the  clapping  of  the  hands  and  the  offer- 
ing of  the  brief  prayers.  There  was  no  sacred  book,  no  doc- 
trine to  be  believed,  and  no  code  of  laws  to  be  followed.  Of 
all  the  religions  of  primitive  peoples  none  has  ever  been 
found  more  simple  and  unencumbered  than  the  early  reli- 
gion of  Japan. 

Yet  the  people  were  intensely  religious.  Wayside  shrines 
were  numerous,  and  various  lesser  divinities  like  the  Kitchen 
God  presided  over  their  home  life  and  the  daily  task.  The 
God  of  Plenty  and  the  God  of  Health  had  their  place,  as  did 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  237 

a  hundred  others,  each  with  its  designated  function.  An- 
cestor worship  was  everywhere  prevalent.  To  this  day  no 
Japanese  household  is  complete  without  its  god-shelf  with 
the  tablets  of  the  deceased  before  which  prayers  and  sacri- 
fices are  offered.  Another  aspect  of  Shinto  which  grew  up 
in  the  early  period  was  reverence  for  the  imperial  house. 
It  was  fully  developed  by  the  time  the  continental  influences 
had  done  their  work  and  remains  as  one  of  the  leading  char- 
acteristics of  the  Japanese  to  this  day.  As  Dr.  G.  W.  Knox 
happily  phrased  it,  everything  in  the  ancient  religion  might 
be  summed  up  in  the  injunction,  "Fear  the  gods  and  obey  the 
emperor."  It  was  "essentially  nature  worship  married  to 
the  worship  of  the  imperial  house."1 

A  closer  glance  is  necessary  at  this  point.  In  A.  D.  712 
a  book  was  written  called  the  Kojiki,  the  "Record  of  An- 
cient Matters,"  which  has  been  called  the  Bible  of  the  Jap- 
anese. This  was  followed  in  720  by  another  work,  the 
Nihongi,  or  "Chronicles  of  Japan,"  which  covered  much 
the  same  ground,  but  which  showed  more  of  the  Chinese 
influence  than  the  earlier  volume.  The  object  of  the  writers 
seemed  to  be  to  trace  the  history  of  Japan  and  the  imperial 
line  back  to  the  very  beginnings.  We  read  there  of  the 
divine  beings  Izanagi  and  his  wife  Izanami,  who  produced 
many  of  the  Japanese  islands  as  well  as  the  Japanese  race; 
also  various  tales  of  gods  and  goddesses,  among  whom  was 
the  great  sun-goddess,  Amaterasu-o-mi-Kami.  She  ruled 
in  the  heavens  in  brilliant  light,  the  highest  divinity  of  the 
ancient  pantheon.  Not  only  so,  it  was  her  "grandson"  Jimmu 
Tenno,  who  assumed  the  rule  in  Japan,  so  it  is  said,  in  B.  C. 
660,  and  inaugurated  the  line  of  emperors.  Remarkable  to 
say,  the  present  sovereign,  Yoshihito,  is  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-third  in  direct  descent  from  Jimmu  Tenno,  the 
grandson  of  the  sun-goddess.  We  may  be  quite  sure  the 
line  has  not  been  broken  since  records  began  to  be  kept  in 

Development  of  Religion  in  Japan,  p.  66.  (Putnam,  New  York, 
1907.) 


238  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

the  fifth  century,  and  how  long  before  that  we  cannot 
know.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  Japanese  are  taught  in 
school  as  the  first  fact  of  history  that  their  reigning  emperor 
is  directly  descended  from  Amaterasu,  the  sun-goddess. 
Little  wonder  that  patriotism  is  for  them  a  part  of  their 
religion  and  allegiance  to  the  imperial  house  the  highest 
obligation  they  know. 

Then  came  Buddhism  and  all  but  swallowed  Shinto.  It 
would  probably  have  done  so  had  it  not  been  for  the  reveren- 
tial attachment  to  the  ruling  dynasty.  This  was  their  most 
tangible  connection  with  the  gods,  the  world  of  divine  power, 
and  held  them  fast  during  all  the  centuries.  Even  though 
through  most  of  their  history  the  emperor  has  been  little 
more  than  a  figure-head  so  far  as  the  actual  rule  was  con- 
cerned, the  Japanese  have  always  looked  on  him  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  gods,  as  the  final  source  of  all  authority. 
This  has  been  consistently  recognized  in  theory  even  though 
the  treatment  meted  out  to  the  ruler  on  many  occasions 
would  seem  to  belie  the  fact.  Whenever  an  important  act 
had  been  decided  upon  by  the  power  in  actual  control  of  the 
country  the  "constitutional"  thing  to  do  was  to  proceed  to 
the  imperial  palace,  lay  the  matter  before  his  august  throne, 
and  receive  the  approbation  of  the  emperor.  This  continued 
to  be  done  until,  in  the  year  1868,  a  revolution  occurred  and 
the  emperor  was  restored,  for  the  first  time  in  many  cen- 
turies, to  his  rightful  place  as  actual  ruler  as  well  as  theoret- 
ical sovereign  of  his  people.  The  loyalty  which  had  centered 
in  devotion  to  feudal  princes  was  at  once,  almost  as  if  by 
magic,  transferred  to  the  emperor  himself.  Undoubtedly 
this  could  not  have  been  accomplished  had  it  not  been  that  in 
the  background  of  all  their  thinking  there  lay  implicit  the 
thought  that  the  divine  representative  of  the  power  of  heaven 
was  in  the  final  analysis  the  foundation  of  their  lesser  loyal- 
ties and  might  claim  the  right  to  their  complete  allegiance. 

This  may  be  little  more  than  conjecture ;  what  we  do  know 
is  that  in  the  eighteenth  century  there  occurred  what  has 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  239 

been  called  "The  Revival  of  Pure  Shinto."  Motoori  and 
other  scholars  began  to  study  anew  the  ancient  literature, 
notably  the  Kojiki,  and  came  to  the  realization  that  things 
were  not  as  they  should  be.  Why  should  the  emperor  be 
kept  in  seclusion  in  the  old  capital  of  Kyoto  while  Japan  was 
being  ruled  by  the  family  of  the  Tokugawas  in  Tokyo?  It 
was  not  so  in  the  early  day,  that  the  literature  made  very 
clear.  Other  powerful  forces  were  at  work  and  may  have 
had  more  to  do  with  the  actual  course  of  events  than  this 
literary  movement,  but  it  at  least  shows  that  men  were  think- 
ing and  that  it  was  along  this  line.  As  it  was,  the  emperor 
was  restored  and  the  Japanese  have  rallied  around  him  with 
a  passionate  devotion  which  evokes  our  admiration  and  sur- 
prise. No  theory  of  the  "divine  right  of  kings"  is  more  far- 
reaching  and  complete  than  the  Japanese.  But  it  goes  a  step 
further  and  asserts  divinity  of  the  very  person  of  the  em- 
peror. He  is  their  divine  ruler,  and  commands  their  loyalty 
and  obedience  by  a  right  seldom  claimed  in  all  history  and 
never  in  modern  times  except  in  the  island  empire.  The 
patriotism  of  the  Japanese  may  readily  be  interpreted  as 
religion,  and  in  fact  is  about  all  the  religion  many  Japa- 
nese have. 

Shinto,  then,  was  saved  from  almost  complete  extinction 
by  the  connection  it  had  with  the  ruling  house.  What  be- 
came of  all  the  gods  and  goddesses  of  the  early  religion?  In 
a  comparatively  short  time  after  its  arrival  Buddhism  be- 
came the  dominant  religion  and  overtopped  the  simple  faith 
of  the  early  days.  Pure  Shinto  remained  little  more  than 
the  ritual  and  ceremonial  of  the  court,  in  which  the  people 
were  only  slightly  interested.  But  we  must  always  remem- 
ber that  even  a  simple  faith  like  Shinto  has  its  roots  deep 
down  in  the  life  of  the  people  and  cannot  be  torn  up  and 
thrown  away  at  will.  So  it  was  in  Japan.  The  people  mixed 
their  Shinto  and  their  Buddhism  together  and  the  result  was 
not  altogether  incongruous.  It  was  known  as  Ryobu,  or 
"Mixed,"  Shinto.  The  mixture  almost  became  a  compound 


240          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

when  by  a  happy  thought  or  a  stroke  of  genius,  not  to  make 
the  charge  of  more  sinister  motives,  a  celebrated  Buddhist 
priest  named  Kobo  Daishi  (A.  D.  774)  declared  that  the  old 
Shinto  deities  were  in  reality  incarnations  of  the  Buddhas 
and  Bodhisattvas !  What  they  had  been  worshiping  in  ig- 
norance of  their  true  greatness  he  now  made  known  to  them, 
and  from  that  day  the  two  religions  have  lived  side  by  side  in 
peace,  though  it  must  be  said  that  Buddhism  got  the  lion's 
share  and  received  all  the  glory.  In  Japan  to-day  a  Shinto 
and  a  Buddhist  gateway  are  frequently  found  at  the  entrance 
of  the  same  temple,  and  inside  a  Shinto  god  and  a  Buddha 
may  share  the  honor  and  worship  of  the  people. 

Because  of  its  connection  with  the  imperial  cult  Shinto 
was  given  a  place  of  honor  at  the  restoration  in  1868,  but 
declined  rapidly,  until  in  1899  the  priests  of  the  sacred 
shrine  at  Ise,  the  shrine  dedicated  to  Amaterasu,  the  divine 
"god-mother"  of  the  emperors,  took  steps  to  make  Shinto 
a  purely  secular  organization.  Now  Shinto  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  the  spirit  of  patriotism.  It  expresses  their  confi- 
dence "that  there  is  a  something  more  than  their  present 
strength  and  wisdom  which  directs  and  aids  and  on  which 
they  may  rely."* 

THE  COMING  OF  BUDDHISM 

The  conquest  of  Japan  by  Buddhism  was  not  without 
opposition.  After  the  embassy  from  the  Korean  king  in 
A.  D.  552  the  new  faith  had  its  ups  and  downs  before  it 
was  able  to  prove  that  it  possessed  larger  power  and  could 
give  greater  material  assistance  to  the  Japanese  than  their 
indigenous  Shinto.  When  the  cause  of  the  new  teaching 
had  been  embraced  by  the  prominent  minister  Shotoku- 
Taishi  (died  621)  the  opposition  ceased  and  Buddhism  was 
accepted  as  belonging  to  the  country.  And  when  finally 
Kobo  Daishi  amalgamated  the  two  faiths  by  making  the 
Shinto  divinities  incarnations  of  the  Buddhas  and  Bodhisatt- 

*  Knox,  op.  cit,  p.  79. 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  241 

vas  no  question  could  be  raised  even  by  the  most  scrupulous. 
From  that  day  to  this  Buddhism  has  remained  the  religion 
of  the  masses  of  the  people.  For  about  three  hundred  years 
other  influences  have  taken  possession  of  the  minds  of  the 
cultured  and  Buddhism  has  been  more  or  less  neglected  in 
these  circles.  Still  it  is  the  great  religious  power  in  the  land, 
thoroughly  acclimated  and  with  a  development  which  is 
peculiarly  Japanese. 

The  contrast  between  Shinto  and  Buddhism  is  sharp  and 
complete.  Shinto  is  simplicity  itself,  in  the  lack  of  all  out- 
ward adornment  as  well  as  of  inner  content.  There  was 
almost  nothing  to  believe  and  very  little  to  do  in  the  old 
faith.  Buddhism  is  the  exact  opposite  of  all  this.  It  is 
elaborate  and  complex  in  every  feature.  It  has  temples 
ornate  and  profusely  decorated  without  and  full  of  images 
and  the  paraphernalia  of  worship  within.  It  has  its  books 
and  its  ceremonial,  its  priests  with  their  vestments — every- 
thing we  associate  with  color  and  form  in  religion  came  into 
Japan  with  Buddhism  and  made  the  country  over  again. 
Art  was  stimulated  and  the  beauties  we  associate  with  Japan 
began  to  appear.  But  more  than  these  outward  manifesta- 
tions, it  was  rich  in  inner  content.  It  opened  up  a  spiritual 
world  to  the  wondering  gaze  of  the  simple  Japanese.  They 
had  never  dreamed  such  a  world  existed,  peopled  with  be- 
ings so  magnificent  and  resplendent  that  they  could  not 
but  win  the  awesome  reverence  of  a  backward  people.  The 
hope  of  immortality  became  a  reality  for  the  first  time,  and 
contact  with  merciful  gods  who  were  all-powerful  yet  inter- 
ested in  the  salvation  of  men.  The  imagination  was  stimu- 
lated and  the  glories  of  a  paradise  presided  over  by  the 
gracious  Amida  became  real.  In  short,  the  hitherto  unde- 
veloped capacity  of  the  Japanese  for  all  that  a  spiritual 
religion  could  supply  found  its  satisfaction  in  Buddhism. 
It  could  not  be  otherwise  when  the  Japanese  mind  was 
beginning  to  expand  under  the  influence  of  the  culture  from 
the  continent.  A  more  satisfying  religion  was  necessary  to 


242  THE   RELIGIONS   OF  MANKIND 

parallel  the  enlarging  outlook  of  a  new  civilization.    It  was 
fortunate  that  Buddhism  was  on  hand  to  fill  the  need. 

As  in  China  so  in  Japan,  the  rise  and  growth  of  schools 
or  sects  became  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  development. 
Some  of  the  sects  were  introduced  directly  from  China,  but 
those  which  have  put  a  distinctive  mark  on  Japanese  Bud- 
dhism were  born  and  grew  up  in  Japan  itself.  This  does 
not  mean  that  they  are  not  related  to  the  Buddhism  across 
the  sea.  Japanese  Buddhism  has  preserved  the  historical 
continuity  of  the  faith,  and  even  in  the  sects  most  distinctive 
of  the  country  the  connection  with  older  teachings  is  close 
and  vital.  In  a  number  of  cases  Japanese  monks  went  to 
China  and  brought  back  the  nucleus  of  what  they  embodied 
in  their  own  systems.  But  it  may  truly  be  said  that  in  the 
Japanese  sects  Buddhism  has  reached  its  farthest  bound  in 
doctrine  and  practice.  Here  Mahayana  has  developed  to 
the  point  of  greatest  departure  from  the  teaching  of  Gautama 
the  Buddha.  The  logic  of  the  newer  ideas  has  been  carried 
out  more  consistently  than  in  any  other  country.  The  sects 
number  about  a  dozen,  but  if  all  the  subsects  are  counted 
the  whole  list  comes  to  about  thirty.  The  most  important 
for  our  purpose  are  six  in  number:  Tendai,  Shingon,  Zen, 
Jodo,  Shin,  and  Nichiren. 

Tendai  arose  early  in  the  ninth  century.  It  sought  to  be 
comprehensive,  in  its  attempt  to  gather  in  teachings  of 
all  sorts,  but  later  in  its  career  it  changed  and  chose  to 
be  eclectic.  Its  chief  claim  to  distinction  is  that  of  being 
parent  of  several  other  important  sects.  Out  of  its  great 
establishment  on  Hiezan,  a  mountain  near  Kyoto,  overlook- 
ing the  beautiful  expanse  of  Lake  Biwa,  have  come  a  num- 
ber of  the  great  historic  leaders  of  Japanese  Buddhism. 
Not  satisfied  with  the  doctrinal  stand  taken  by  its  leaders, 
they  withdrew  and  founded  schools  of  their  own,  which 
have  become  more  famous  than  the  mother  of  them  all.  It 
has  had  a  stormy  history.  In  the  days  when  feudalism  was 
in  power  and  monks  could  be  soldiers  Hiezan  became  a  ver- 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  243 

itable  fortress,  sending  out  its  armed  men  to  help  this  side 
and  then  that  in  the  interminable  strife  of  petty  chieftains. 
Finally  in  the  sixteenth  century  Nobunaga,  the  dictator, 
suspecting  that  the  monks  of  Hiezan  were  against  him,  made 
an  attack,  and  after  bloody  fighting  cleared  the  mountain 
and  burned  every  building  on  it.  The  sect  has  never  recov- 
ered from  this  blow,  and  now  peaceful  Hiezan  is  the  sum- 
mer home  of  beauty-loving  Japanese  and  foreigners  who 
are  glad  to  escape  from  the  heat  of  the  city. 

Shingon  arose  in  the  same  period,  being  founded  in 
806  by  Kobo  Daishi,  whom  we  have  already  met.  The 
core  of  his  teaching,  according  to  Professor  A.  K.  Reisch- 
auer,  is  "that  man  can  even  in  this  present  life  attain  Bud- 
dhahood  since  he  is  essentially  one  with  the  eternal  Bud- 
dha."8 This  essential  Buddha  is  Dainichi,  in  India  Vairo- 
chana,  one  of  the  Dhyani-Buddhas,  early  developed  in  Ma- 
hayana.  He  is  the  all,  inclusive  of  everything.  The  system 
then  is  clearly  pantheistic.  Man  came  from  out  this  all,  is 
essentially  one  with  it  now,  and  will  be  reabsorbed;  this  is 
what  it  means  to  attain  Buddhahood.  There  are  two  meth- 
ods of  attainment,  one  by  meditation  and  knowledge  and 
the  other  by  a  righteous  life.  So  there  are  two  worlds,  one 
of  ideas,  "unchangeable  and  everlasting,  having  existence 
only  in  universal  thought,"  the  other  a  world  of  phenom- 
ena, the  world  we  see  and  touch.  Vairochana  is  the  center 
of  both,  but,  of  course,  the  one  is  only  a  seeming  world, 
destined  to  pass  away.  The  real  world,  everlasting  and 
eternal,  is  the  ideal  world  to  which  all  must  attain  for  final 
salvation.  Belief  in  the  efficacy  of  the  magic  word,  the  spell, 
the  posture,  has  worked  evil  in  the  sect,  partially  saved  by 
the  ideal  philosophy  on  which  it  is  based. 

The  Zen,  founded  in  1191,  is  by  no  means  the  most  nu- 
merous of  the  sects,  but  it  has  the  largest  number  of  temples. 
It  lays  the  greatest  stress  on  contemplation  and  meditation, 

8  Studies  in  Japanese  Buddhism,  p.  94.  (Macmillan,  New  York, 
1917.) 


244  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

thus  being  somewhat  in  harmony  with  the  Buddha's  way  of 
virtue.  Like  the  Shingon,  the  Zen  aims  at  a  divine  empti- 
ness. There  are  in  reality  two  selves,  one  which  has  the 
world  around  us  as  its  object  and  the  other  which  looks 
away  into  the  real  world  of  ideas.  Only  when  one  rises  to 
the  experiences  of  the  higher,  true  self  is  he  on  the  road  to 
emancipation.  The  training  of  the  will  is  of  prime  impor- 
tance, for  no  advance  can  be  made  without  the  control  of  the 
passions  and  the  conquest  of  the  physical  desires.  It 
trained  and  hardened  the  resolution  of  its  disciples  and  made 
for  stoical  endurance  of  the  experiences  of  life.  For  this 
reason  it  made  a  strong  appeal  to  the  Samurai  of  old  Japan, 
the  soldier-scholars,  who  better  than  any  others  represented 
the  ancient  spirit.  They  were  taught  to  laugh  at  hardship 
and  even  welcome  death  without  fear  or  the  slightest  evi- 
dence of  emotion.  The  practical  philosophy  of  the  Zen  fitted 
in  splendidly  with  their  ideal  and  gave  a  religious  tone  to 
a  spirit  which  otherwise  was  likely  not  to  rise  to  a  very 
high  level. 

With  the  advent  of  the  Jodo  we  find  ourselves  in  another 
atmosphere.  Founded  by  Honen  Shonin  in  1175,  it  promul- 
gated the  doctrine  of  the  Western  paradise,  or  Pure  Land, 
which  is  presided  over  by  the  great  Amida.  The  way  of  sal- 
vation is  by  faith  in  him,  who  promises  to  deliver  all  those 
who  trust  in  him.  But  paradise  cannot  be  assured  without 
the  repetition,  times  without  number,  of  the  Nembutsu,  or 
prayer  formula,  "Namu-Amida-Butsu."  The  rosary  thus 
becomes  an  important  article,  as  the  prayers  are  told  off  one 
by  one.  Of  course,  it  becomes  a  meaningless  and  lifeless 
form,  even  though  merit  and  a  nearer  approach  to  the 
heaven  of  Amida  is  the  reward  of  faithfulness  in  its  per- 
formance. Another  step  must  be  taken  for  the  "faith  doc- 
trine" to  come  to  its  own,  and  that  was  accomplished  by 
Shinran  Shonin,  the  founder  of  the  Shin  sect,  who  saw  the 
line  which  must  be  taken. 

This  remarkable  man  had  his  introduction  to  Buddhist 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  245 

doctrine  in  the  Tendai  monastery  on  Hiezan.  Dissatisfied 
with  the  teaching,  he  went  out  determined  to  seek  a  more 
satisfying  way  of  salvation.  He  went  to  China  and  trav- 
eled from  center  to  center,  and  doubtless  while  there  made 
his  discovery  and  formulated  his  distinctive  doctrine.  Com- 
ing back  to  Japan,  he  founded  a  new  sect  in  1224.  He  gave 
it  the  name  of  Shin  or  Shin-shu.  It  is  also  known  as  Jodo- 
Shin,  or  True  Pure  Land,  also  the  Monto,  and  the  Hong- 
wanji  Sect.  He  built  directly  on  the  teaching  of  the  Jodo, 
with  its  emphasis  on  the  Western  paradise  of  Amida.  He 
made  much  of  Amida's  vow.  It  is  said  that  this  spiritual 
being,  going  on  to  the  perfection  of  Buddhahood,  solemnly 
vowed  that  he  would  never  allow  himself  the  last  and  crown- 
ing experience  so  long  as  men  were  left  below  in  the  world 
of  suffering  whom  he  might  help.  He  was  still  keeping  the 
vow  and  holding  out  his  hands  in  love  to  all  who  would  come 
and  throw  themselves  on  his  mercy.  He  would  give  them 
an  immediate  salvation,  the  earnest  of  what  was  in  store  for 
them  in  the  great  beyond.  Shinran  was  very  emphatic  that 
there  was  no  other  salvation,  and  that  it  could  be  attained 
by  faith  and  faith  alone.  Here  is  where  he  parted  company 
with  the  Jodo.  There  was  no  possibility  of  accumulating 
merit  by  anything  a  man  might  do,  not  even  by  repetition  of 
the  Nembutsu.  Only  by  putting  faith  in  Amida  and  believ- 
ing that  he  would  receive  any  who  came  might  a  man  hope 
for  salvation. 

It  will  repay  us  to  pause  a  minute  to  look  a  little  more 
carefully  at  this  way  of  salvation.  In  one  of  the  sermons  of 
Tada  Kanai  this  passage  occurs:  "This  one  name  stands 
revealed  in  the  midst  of  a  world  of  Shadow  and  Vision,  and 
it  alone  is  neither  Shadow  nor  Vision.  It  is  revealed  in  the 
world,  but  it  belongs  not  to  this  world.  It  is  Light.  It  is 
the  Way.  It  is  Life.  It  is  Power.  This  name  alone  has 
come  down  from  Heaven,  the  Absolute  and  Invisible,  to 
Earth,  the  Finite  and  the  Visible.  It  alone  is  the  rope  which 
can  draw  us  out  from  the  burning  fire  of  pain,  and  land  us 


246  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

safely  in  a  place  of  pure  and  eternal  bliss/'*  Even  the  faith 
which  we  exercise  is  not  in  our  own  power,  but  is  graciously 
bestowed  by  Amida.  Not  even  prayer  avails;  there  is  no 
merit  in  any  form  or  "works" ;  it  is  solely  by  the  mercy  of 
the  Saviour  who  looks  with  compassion  on  the  heart  of 
anyone  who  is  willing  to  trust  him.  There  is  no  difference 
between  the  priesthood  and  the  laity.  To  enter  a  monastery 
or  to  practice  meditation  is  as  useless  to  secure  salvation  as 
it  would  be  to  storm  the  battlements  of  heaven. 

Where  did  Shinran  get  this  doctrine?  That  is  a  real 
question,  as  yet  unanswered.  Professor  Arthur  Lloyd5  spent 
many  years  of  serious  study  on  the  question  and  became 
convinced  that  Shinran,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  came 
into  contact  with  Christian  teaching  in  China  and  adopted  it 
as  his  own.  It  is  clear  that  we  have  here  the  doctrine  of 
salvation  by  faith  as  clearly  taught  as  by  Paul  or  Luther. 
And  it  is  not  beyond  the  bounds  of  possibility  that  Profes- 
sor Lloyd's  conclusion  is  correct.  Nestorian  Christian  mis- 
sionaries had  been  in  China  for  several  hundreds  of  years, 
and  it  would  be  strange  if  some  fragments  at  least  of  their 
teaching  should  not  have  penetrated  very  much  farther  than 
the  direct  influence  of  the  missionaries  themselves.  Others 
claim  that  Nestorian  Christianity  was  so  far  removed  from 
the  New  Testament  doctrine  that  Shinran  could  not  have  de- 
rived his  teaching  from  that  source.  The  possibility  remains 
open  that  this  way  of  salvation  arose  in  India  and  was  car- 
ried to  the  Far  East  independent  of  any  western  influence. 

But  who  is  this  wonderful  being  Amida  in  whom  men  are 
asked  so  implicitly  to  place  their  confidence?  Trace  him 
back  through  China  to  India  and  there  as  Amitabha  he 
appears  as  one  of  the  Dhyani  Buddhas,  or  Buddhas  of  Con- 
templation. In  the  triple  scheme  worked  out  in  the  early 
Mahayana  days  we  have  Amitabha,  and  under  him  Ava- 

4  The  Praises  of  Amida,  trans,  by  Arthur  Lloyd,  sermon  i. 
'See  especially  The  Creed  of  Half  Japan.    (Smith  Elder,  London, 
1911.) 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  247 

lokita,  the  Bodhisattva  of  Contemplation,  and  lastly  Gau- 
tama, the  earthly  manifestation.  It  is  all  an  imaginary 
scheme  whose  only  sure  historic  foothold  is  Gautama,  here 
a  very  inferior  being.  So  men  are  asked  to  pin  their  faith 
on  Amida,  a  figment  of  the  imagination,  placed  in  the  heav- 
ens as  a  Saviour  because  man  felt  the  need  for  what  such 
a  being  could  offer,  but  with  no  assured  existence  as  a  reality 
in  the  true  world  of  spiritual  beings.  Speaking  of  the  dif- 
ference between  Amida  and  Jesus  Christ,  Professor  Lloyd 
says,  "But,  the  one  is  an  Idea,  the  other  a  Person — the  one 
a  creature  of  theological  Fancy,  the  other  a  Being  whose 
history  is  well  defined."'  But  surely  the  Christ  idea  was 
present  in  Shinran's  mind,  whether  he  learned  it  of  Christian 
missionaries  or  not,  and  some  day  the  Japanese  believers  in 
Amida  may  come  to  see  that  the  true  embodiment  of  their 
ideal  and  the  sure  fulfillment  of  their  hopes  are  to  be  found 
in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  unlocked  the  doors  of  the 
spiritual  world  and  showed  us  the  one  true  God. 

The  Shin  sect  is  by  far  the  largest  and  most  influential 
in  Japan.  Shinran  was  an  innovator.  Monasticism  meant 
nothing  to  him,  so,  like  Luther,  he  broke  through  the  bond- 
age and  married  a  wife.  Celibacy  could  bring  a  man  no 
nearer  the  goal,  so  he  would  have  none  of  it,  and  to  this  day 
the  priests  of  the  Shin  sect  marry  like  their  parishioners 
and  live  among  men  like  their  fellows.  They  dress  like  the 
laity  except  when  attending  to  their  priestly  duties.  They 
are  in  close  touch  with  men  and  are  seeking  to  accommodate 
their  practice  to  the  demands  of  modern  life.  They  are 
opposed  to  Christianity,  but  pay  it  the  high  compliment  of 
copying  its  methods.  Preaching  halls  have  been  provided 
and  sermons  are  delivered.  Sunday  schools  are  conducted, 
provided  with  the  helps  and  apparatus  of  the  Christian 
schools,  sometimes  with  a  pathetic  inability  to  put  on  the 
original  touch  which  would  make  them  soundly  Buddhistic. 
Young  Men's  Buddhist  Associations  have  been  organized 
*  Praises  of  Amida,  p.  150. 


248  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

in  various  cities,  and  a  periodical  literature  attempts  to  meet 
the  intellectual  needs  of  the  alert  young  students  and  the 
cultured  men  and  women.  They  are  a  force  to  be  reckoned 
on,  with  an  enormous  following,  and  a  readiness  to  make 
almost  any  move  to  meet  the  new  situations  as  they  arise. 

We  have  one  more  sect  to  mention,  the  Nichiren.  It  was 
founded  by  a  remarkable  man  of  that  name  in  1253.  He  was 
scandalized  at  the  neglect  which  was  being  shown  the  per- 
son of  the  historical  Gautama,  and  wished  to  reinstate  him 
in  his  rightful  position.  The  Jodo  and  the  Shin,  recently 
formed,  had  almost  entirely  neglected  the  great  founder  and 
had  placed  other  deities  in  his  place.  But  Nichiren  taught 
that  Gautama  the  Buddha  was  to  be  taken  mystically.  "The 
true  Buddha  is  a  greatness  permeating  all  being,  the  great 
illumination  we  must  find  in  ourselves."7  What  is  to  be 
gained  by  a  return  to  the  historical  Buddha  when  he  is  not 
to  be  taken  historically  is  a  question.  The  system  of  Nichi- 
ren is  purely  pantheistic.  The  sect  has  been  noted  in  Japan 
for  its  vigorous  opposition  to  all  rival  sects  and  other  reli- 
gions. It  condemns  Buddhist  sects  which  preach  a  different 
doctrine  almost  as  violently  as  it  does  Christianity.  It  will 
not  appear  on  the  same  platform  with  any  other  sect,  but 
prefers  to  go  its  own  noisy  way,  fighting  here  and  fighting 
there  wherever  an  enemy  appears.  But  with  all  its  mis- 
directed zeal  the  movement  seeks  to  follow  the  example  of 
its  founder,  who  was  one  of  the  most  picturesque  person- 
ages and  noblest  patriots  Japan  has  ever  known.  Living  in 
a  time  when  the  country  was  in  danger  of  an  invasion  by 
the  hordes  of  Kublai  Khan,  the  Mongol  emperor  of  China, 
Nichiren  was  the  prophet  of  preparedness  and  had  much  to 
do  with  the  vigorous  and  successful  defense  which  kept  the 
invader  from  landing  on  the  sacred  shores.  Several  times 
he  was  exiled  for  patriotically  resisting  the  evil  counsels  of 
men  in  power.  His  life  was  in  danger,  but  with  singleness 
of  purpose  he  went  his  way,  seeking  to  lead  men  aright  both 

1 H.  Hackmann,  Buddhism  as  a  Religion,  p.  292. 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  249 

politically  and  spiritually.  Latterly  he  lived  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Central  Japan,  in  a  little  shelter  he  had  built  for 
himself  away  from  the  confusion  of  a  troubled  time.  The 
inspiration  of  his  name  is  still  powerful  as  the  story  of  his 
unselfish  devotion  to  native  land  is  recounted  in  story 
and  song. 

So  much  for  the  sects,  to  one  or  another  of  which  the 
people  belong.  They  are  not  concerned  about  the  philosophy 
of  the  sects;  they  call  the  priests  in  to  officiate  in  times  of 
need,  and  give  themselves  to  such  performances  as  are  pre- 
scribed. When  it  is  remembered  that  Buddhism  is  the  reli- 
gion of  the  village  people  who  comprise  eighty  per  cent  of 
the  entire  population,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  it  is  the  religion 
par  excellence  of  the  Japanese.  One  of  the  most  unfortunate 
facts  about  Buddhism  is  suggested  by  the  different  attitudes 
of  the  intelligent  and  the  ignorant  masses  toward  its  doc- 
trines. The  inner  teaching  cannot  be  understood  by  ninety 
per  cent  of  the  people.  To  them  the  higher,  the  essential 
teaching  is  not  offered.  An  accommodated  doctrine,  suited 
to  their  understanding,  where  symbol  is  used  instead  of  idea, 
is  about  all  they  can  take.  "The  esoteric  teaching  may  have 
to  do  with  self -identification  with  the  absolute,  while  the 
popular  preacher  talks  of  a  materialistic  Hell  and  Heaven."* 
Is  one  consistent  with  the  other?  If  it  is,  no  one  could 
object  to  the  attempt  to  reach  the  heart  of  the  people  by 
language  and  figures  they  can  understand,  but,  when  the 
Japanese  themselves  feel,  as  many  of  them  do,  that  there  is 
a  real  discrepancy,  the  palpable  insincerity  of  the  whole 
method  is  a  serious  bar  to  its  acceptance  by  those  who  are 
looking  for  both  light  and  reality. 

Again  Buddhism  has  been  paying  a  high  price  for  its  mili- 
tant interference  in  affairs  of  state  during  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  Tokugawa  rulers,  who  assumed  control  late  in  the  six- 
teenth century  and  retained  it  until  the  restoration  in  1868, 
curtailed  the  aggressiveness  of  the  sects  and  reduced  them 

'  Knox,  Development  of  Religion  in  Japan,  p.  120. 


250          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

to  comparative  impotence.  The  religion  lost  the  hold  it 
had  on  the  gentry  and  became  more  exclusively  what  it 
had  always  been  and  is  to-day,  the  religion  of  the  common 
people  of  the  country.  It  is  dependent  for  support  entirely 
on  free-will  offerings.  A  new  earnestness  is  apparent,  par- 
ticularly in  Shin-shu,  which  has  become  interested  in  the 
condition  of  Buddhism  in  Korea  and  China  and  is  stimulat- 
ing by  visitations  and  gifts  the  reclamation  of  decaying  in- 
stitutions and  the  inauguration  of  new  enterprises  to  make 
the  faith  again  the  fresh  and  vital  force  it  was  in  the  old 
days  of  its  missionary  zeal.  It  is  too  early  as  yet  to  estimate 
the  real  power  lying  back  of  the  movement. 

THE  ADOPTION  OF  CONFUCIANISM 

Buddhism  did  not  provide  a  moral  code  for  the  masses 
of  the  people;  it  had  rules  and  regulations  only  for  the 
monks  and  the  priests.  But  at  the  same  time  Buddhism 
came  into  Japan  the  teachings  of  Confucius  also  made  their 
way  from  the  mainland.  With  what  has  already  been  said 
concerning  Confucius  and  his  system  we  are  prepared  to 
learn  of  its  reception  in  Japan  and  of  the  development  which 
it  underwent.  For  when  the  Japanese  mind  had  finished 
its  work  on  the  Confucianism  which  came  from  China  it  was 
a  very  different  thing.  It  was  compelled  to  fit  into  the  Jap- 
anese mold,  and  in  doing  so  received  an  impress  which  would 
have  caused  the  sage  to  shudder  with  horror.  The  condi- 
tions in  Japan  were  entirely  different  from  those  in  China. 
Confucius  based  all  his  practical  injunctions  on  the  family. 
The  first  relation  was  that  of  father  and  son.  But  in  Japan 
it  was  somewhat  different.  The  first  relation  was,  rather, 
that  of  ruler  and  subject.  The  state  is  first;  loyalty,  and 
not  filial  piety,  is  the  first  virtue,  though  filial  piety  is  of 
supreme  importance. 

In  China,  again,  peace  is  the  great  desideratum  and  the 
scholar  the  first  man  in  the  social  scale.  The  men  who  pro- 
duce are  put  first,  and  the  scholar  is  a  producer  of  the  high- 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  251 

est  and  finest  sort.  The  soldier,  on  the  other  hand,  is  looked 
on  as  a  destroyer,  and  as  such  is  put  down  to  the  lowest 
plane,  beneath  the  farmer,  the  artisan,  and  the  merchant. 
In  China  the  emperor  ruled  as  the  Son  of  Heaven  so  long 
as  he  ruled  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  virtue  and 
benevolence.  He  might  forfeit  his  right  to  the  throne  and 
cease  to  be  considered  the  Son  of  Heaven  by  unseemly  con- 
duct, provided,  of  course,  the  aggrieved  people  could  find 
a  leader  to  organize  them  for  victory,  sweep  the  old  tyrant 
from  the  throne,  and  take  the  place  himself  as  the  accredited 
ruler  of  the  people.  The  voice  of  the  people  was  in  a  real 
sense  the  voice  of  God.  Dynasty  after  dynasty  in  China  has 
been  hurled  from  the  throne  by  just  this  process.  The 
Chinese  theory  has  been  given  in  order  to  make  clear  the 
situation  in  Japan,  which  is  just  the  opposite.  The  emperor 
is  the  Son  of  Heaven  by  right  of  descent  from  Amaterasu 
— such  was  the  theory.  But,  more  practically,  he  ruled  by 
right  of  conquest  and  the  power  of  the  sword.  He  or  his 
ancestors  had  won  the  first  place  in  the  land  and  intended 
to  maintain  the  position  against  all  comers.  When  the  tra- 
dition had  been  established  and  the  descent  of  the  ruler  from 
the  gods  could  be  assumed  the  day  was  won.  But  it  can 
readily  be  seen  that  the  whole  theory  was  different  from 
that  of  China.  The  imperial  family  must  be  secured  on  the 
throne  at  any  price;  peace,  then,  was  of  secondary  impor- 
tance,4 and  has  never  been  looked  upon  as  a  particularly  desir- 
able thing  in  Japanese  history.  As  a  consequence  the  sol- 
dier became  the  first  man  in  Japan,  and  underneath  were 
ranged  the  farmer,  the  artisan,  and  the  merchant,  in  that 
order.  By  an  interesting  turn  the  soldier  was  also  the 
scholar.  The  uniting  of  these  two  characters,  which  are 
separated  by  the  whole  width  of  the  social  scale  in  China, 
in  one  individual  is  one  of  the  unique  features  we  find  pecu- 
liar to  Japanese  life  in  the  old  regime. 

Now,    what   happened    when    the    Confucian    ideal    was 
brought  into  contact  with  a  condition  as  strange  to  its  essen- 


252  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

tial  genius  as  this?  The  resulting  Confucianism  could 
scarcely  be  recognized  as  such.  Confucius  was  honored  by 
an  acceptance  of  his  system,  but  so  changed  that  he  would 
hardly  have  recognized  it  as  his  own.  Several  of  the  essen- 
tial notes  of  his  system  had  been  obliterated  and  his  ideals 
had  been  bowed  out  of  court.  There  gradually  developed 
out  of  the  transformation  which  took  place  a  new  code 
which  was  admirably  fitted  to  the  feudalism  which  prevailed 
in  Japan  until  1871.  In  China,  as  we  remember,  feudalism 
had  been  abolished  in  the  year  B.  C.  221,  but  even  then  it 
was  not  a  feudalism  like  that  of  Japan.  The  code  was 
called  Bushido,  Bushi  meaning  "warrior"  and  "do"  being 
another  form  of  the  "tao"  with  which  we  have  become 
familiar.  Here  it  might  again  be  translated  the  "way," 
making  the  whole  word  mean  "The  way  of  the  warrior." 
Much  has  been  written  about  this  old  code — "Code  of  Hon- 
or" we  might  call  it — in  praise  and  admiration.  It  deserves 
about  as  much  praise  and  condemnation  as  the  old  code  of 
the  gentleman,  with  its  dueling  and  its  oversensitiveness  on 
questions  of  honor,  which  lasted  so  long  in  this  country,  par- 
ticularly in  the  South.  Its  great  virtue  was  loyalty — every 
thing  turned  on  this.  A  man  must  sacrifice  everything  to 
loyalty,  usually  to  his  feudal  lord.  Life  itself  was  of  little 
value  compared  with  firmness  and  steadfastness  in  his 
allegiance.  It  applied  equally  to  the  gentle  women  in  Japan, 
who  were  taught  to  sacrifice  everything,  even  their  honor, 
if  by  so  doing  they  might  exhibit  necessary  loyalty  in  a  time 
of  danger  or  crisis.  Japanese  literature  is  full  of  examples 
of  men  and  women  who  forfeited  their  all  for  the  cause  of 
their  liege-lord.  Loyalty  to  parents  was  also  included;  in 
fact,  loyalty  in  every  relationship  where  it  might  be  called 
into  play.  There  was  little  chance  for  the  development  of 
personality,  the  individual  counted  for  almost  nothing. 

Other  sides  of  Bushido  will  throw  it  into  bolder  relief. 
Coupled  with  loyalty  were  hardness  and  stoic  indifference 
to  suffering  and  loss  and  death.  Simplicity  was  admired  in 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  253 

adornment  and  taste.  Frugality  in  food  and  clothing  be- 
came a  rule;  the  Samurai  came  to  loathe  money;  to  him  it 
was  literally  "filthy  lucre."  Laconic  in  speech,  courtly  in 
manner,  reserved  among  friends  and  dignified  at  all  times,  he 
led  a  life  which  had  been  forced  into  a  rigid  mold  with  little 
opportunity  to  relax  and  be  his  natural  self.  Never  appear- 
ing in  public  without  his  two  swords,  he  was  inured  to  the 
thought  that  at  any  time  he  might  be  called  on  to  use  either 
or  both,  the  keen  long  blade  on  an  enemy  and  the  short 
dirk  on  himself.  For  in  Japan  suicide  was  raised  to  the 
position  of  a  virtue,  if  performed  to  escape  an  ignominious 
death  at  the  hands  of  an  enemy  or  if  no  other  way  remained 
to  vindicate  one's  honor.  Is  there  any  wonder  the  sword 
was  called  "The  Soul  of  Samurai"?  Is  there  any  wonder 
the  Japanese  are  fierce  fighters  and  that  martial  virtues  are 
still  held  in  such  high  esteem  among  them  ? 

Such  was  one  side  of  Confucianism  when  it  had  become 
domesticated  in  Japan — but  there  is  another.  The  Chinese 
classics  and  the  ethical  system  contained  in  them  were 
being  studied  with  deep  insight.  Confucian  ethics  is  not 
utilitarian.  It  is  based  on  the  profound  conception  that  be- 
hind our  work-a-day  world  there  is  another  in  which  what 
we  strive  to  attain  in  moral  conduct  is  an  immanent  prin- 
ciple. The  ethical  system  we  seek  to  follow  is  an  essential 
part  of  the  eternal  nature  of  things  and  as  such  there  is  a 
binding  quality  to  its  obligation  which  no  merely  utilitarian 
system  could  command.  This  thought  stirred  the  soul  of 
men  here  and  there  and  a  literature  grew  up  which  rooted 
ethics  in  the  very  heart  of  a  universe  which  in  its  inner  es- 
sence is  righteousness.  To  be  righteous  ourselves  is  to 
express  in  time  and  under  mundane  conditions  what  the 
universe  was  expressing  in  the  solemn  majesty  of  its  mighty 
processes.  This  solemnized  many  a  man  and  led  him  to 
reverence  the  universe  of  which  he  was  a  part.  It  became 
a  religion  for  many  who  were  not  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
philosophy  and  practice  of  Buddhism.  As  might  be  ex- 


254  THE  RELIGIONS  OF  MANKIND 

pected,  there  could  be  no  propaganda,  no  enthusiasm  estab- 
lishing a  kingdom,  but  the  calm  dignity  of  a  quietism.  Men 
lived  carefully,  but,  more  than  that,  they  felt  hushed  in  the 
presence  of  a  world-order  which  was  the  embodiment  of  all 
they  admired  and  could  respect.  This  high  type  of  Con- 
fucianist  theory  could  only  be  the  cherished  possession  of 
a  few.  Yet  it  was  and  still  is  the  inner  groundwork  of 
belief  of  conservative  men  who  have  not  been  able  to  ally 
themselves  with  any  of  the  aggressive  religious  organiza- 
tions which  are  seeking  to  win  the  allegiance  of  Japan. 

And  now  again  in  Japan  the  question  arises,  What  of  the 
future  ?  For  the  second  time  in  her  long  history  Japan  has 
reached  out  her  arms  to  take  all  she  needs  and  can  assimi- 
late of  a  civilization  and  culture  to  which  she  has  until  recent 
years  been  a  complete  stranger.  We  have  no  way  of  deter- 
mining what  course  the  old  religions  would  have  taken  had 
Japan  been  left  to  herself  any  more  than  a  would-be  prophet 
could  have  predicted  what  would  have  become  of  Shinto 
just  before  the  influences  from  the  continent  began  to  flow 
in  during  the  fourth  or  fifth  century.  Japan  is  to  be  a  new 
Japan,  but  of  one  thing  we  may  be  sure :  no  flooding  of  the 
country  by  influences  from  without  can  obliterate  the  ten- 
dencies that  are  distinctively  Japanese  nor  prevent  the  mod- 
ification of  the  new  material  in  accordance  with  the  essential 
genius  of  the  people. 

Western  science  is  doing  its  deadly  work  with  the  ancient 
superstitions.  The  old  myths,  legends,  cosmologies,  and  tra- 
ditions, both  Shinto  and  Buddhist,  are  doomed,  the  only 
immediate  hindrance  at  one  point  being  the  pressure  of  a 
false  patriotism  which  as  yet  is  winning  the  victory  over 
historical  truth  in  not  permitting  any  statement  to  be  made 
which  might  discount  the  initial  claim  of  the  royal  house  to 
be  descended  from  the  gods.  But  it  is  only  a  question  of 
time  when,  with  universal  elementary  education  and  the 
higher  schools  attended  by  an  increasing  proportion  of  the 
most  eager  young  minds,  none  of  the  old  superstitions  will 


THE  RELIGIONS  OF  JAPAN  255 

have  any  appreciable  hold  on  the  people.  When  that  day 
comes  what  will  be  the  religion  of  the  Japanese? 

Can  Buddhism  be  reinterpreted  in  the  light  of  modern 
thought  so  as  to  hold  the  intellect  of  young  Japan?  If  not, 
it  must  gradually  lose  its  hold  on  the  masses.  The  modern 
world  is  a  single  community  in  which  every  class  must  take 
its  part  and  share  the  burden.  What  we  do  actually  see 
on  every  hand  is  great  uncertainty  and  confusion.  Even 
the  common  people  feel  it  and  can  be  attracted  by  such 
emotional  off-shoots  of  Shinto  as  Tenrikyo  and  Remmonkyo, 
both  led  by  uneducated  enthusiasts,  peasant  women  pro- 
fessing to  heal  the  body  as  well  as  minister  comfort  to  the 
soul.  On  the  other  hand,  Buddhism  has  not  been  able  to 
hold  the  young  intellectuals,  as  a  census  taken  at  the  Im- 
perial University  in  Tokyo  a  few  years  conclusively  dem- 
onstrated. Of  about  five  thousand  students  four  thousand 
five  hundred,  in  round  numbers,  returned  answers  to  the 
effect  that  they  were  either  atheists  or  agnostics ! 

The  Japanese  leaders  are  deeply  concerned.  In  1912  the 
Department  of  Education  officially  summoned  what  came 
to  be  known  as  the  Three  Religions  Conference,  so  called  be- 
cause it  was  composed  of  representatives  of  Buddhism, 
Shinto,  and  Christianity.  Education  alone,  said  the  officials 
of  the  Department,  was  not  able  to  build  up  the  morality 
which  must  be  the  foundation  of  a  great  state.  Religion 
must  do  its  important  work,  for  morality  without  religion 
was  a  rope  of  sand.  Could  the  government  count  on  the 
hearty  cooperation  of  the  various  religions  represented  to 
do  their  part  in  the  building  up  of  the  Japan  that  was  to  be? 
Such  was  the  final  request  of  the  government  in  a  mem- 
orable conference.  What  can  Shinto  do  besides  stimulate 
the  patriotism  which  already  has  proved  itself  quite  suffi- 
cient to  make  men  willing  to  dare  and  to  die?  What  can 
Confucianism  do  more  than  it  has  done  in  inculcating  a 
code  which  has  had  its  day,  and  which  on  careful  exam- 
ination scarcely  seems  strong  enough  to  bear  the  weight  of 


256          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

the  new  social  problems  and  to  emancipate  the  individual 
who  is  coming  to  feel  the  supreme  value  of  human  per- 
sonality? What  can  Buddhism  do  unless  it  succeed  far 
better  than  it  now  gives  promise  of  doing  in  reaching  the 
intellect  and  heart  of  young  Japan  in  search  after  a  satis- 
fying philosophy  and  a  moral  dynamic  sufficient  to  meet  the 
temptations  and  trials  of  life?  Is  there  a  call  for  Chris- 
tianity? Such  is  the  view  of  many  prominent  leaders,  not 
Christians  themselves,  who  see  little  or  no  hope  in  Japan's 
own  religious  heritage  and  who  are  compelled  to  look  in 
the  only  other  direction  they  know.  It  is  an  opportunity 
and  a  challenge  unsurpassed  in  all  the  history  of  our  faith. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

George  W.  Knox,  The  Development  of  Religion  in  Japan   (New 

York,  1907). 
August  K.  Reischauer,  Studies  in  Japanese  Buddhism  (New  York, 

1917)- 

W.  G.  Aston,  Shinto  (The  Way  of  the  Gods),  (London,  1905). 
George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  Vol.  I,  Chaps.  VI,  VII. 


CHAPTER  X 
JUDAISM 

THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  SEMITES 

OF  the  sons  of  Noah,  as  given  in  the  tenth  chapter  of 
Genesis,  the  first  is  Shem.  The  classification  of  peoples 
which  follows  is  partly  genealogical  and  partly  geographical, 
the  "sons"  of  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth  being  a  list  of 
peoples  and  nations  known  in  the  period  when  these  records 
were  written.  The  immediate  "sons"  of  Shem  are  said  to  be 
the  Elamites,  the  Assyrians,  the  Lydians  of  Asia  Minor,  the 
widely  scattered  Aramaeans,  and  Arpachshad,  which  Canon 
Driver  takes  to  mean  "the  supposed  ancestor  of  the  Kas- 
dim,"  or  Chaldaeans,  who  became  "the  ruling  caste  in  Baby- 
lonia."1 Shem  is  also  called  "the  father  of  all  the  children  of 
Eber,"2  which  is  intended  to  indicate  the  tribes  of  Arabia, 
mentioned  in  Gen.  10.  25-30,  and  the  children  of  Abraham, 
the  Israelites,  Ishmaelites,  Midianites,  and  Edomites.  This 
enumeration  roughly  corresponds  to  the  modern  classifica- 
tion of  the  Semitic  peoples,  but  at  the  same  time  differs  in 
several  important  particulars.  The  Lydians  are  not  now 
listed  among  the  Semitic  peoples,  while  the  "sons"  of 
Canaan,  who  is  put  down  in  Genesis  as  one  of  the  sons  of 
Ham,  are  now  universally  recognized  as  of  the  same  racial 
stock  with  the  Hebrews  and  Arabs  and  their  Semitic  breth- 
ren in  the  Mesopotamian  valley.  We  know  them  as  the 
Canaanites,  the  Phoenicians,  and  the  Amorites  in  historic 
times.  In  general  they  fall  into  two  great  divisions,  the 
Northern  and  the  Southern  Semites.  The  home  of  the 


1  Commentary  on  Genesis,  p.  I28f.    (Methuen,  London,  1913.) 
*  Gen.  10.  21. 

257 


258          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Southern  branch  is  Arabia  and  that  of  the  Northern  the  great 
expanse  of  desert  and  fertile  land  lying  to  the  north  of 
Arabia  between  the  mountains  of  Persia  on  one  side  and  the 
Mediterranean  on  the  other.  But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
the  original  home  of  all  these  peoples  was  Arabia,  the  cradle 
of  the  Semitic  race,  which  from  time  to  time  has  poured  out 
into  the  adjacent  lands  groups  of  its  people  too  hard  pressed 
by  the  rigors  of  a  barren  land,  which  is  barely  able  to  support 
a  limited  number  of  nomads  and  a  still  smaller  number  of 
dwellers  in  towns  and  cities. 

Semitic  civilization  was  essentially  nomadic  and  in  Arabia 
retains  this  trait  to  the  present  time.  They  were  divided  into 
many  small  tribes  and  lived  an  exceedingly  simple  life. 
When  they  gave  up  the  nomadic  life,  as  they  did  when  they 
emigrated  from  their  age-long  home,  the  same  exclusiveness 
expressed  itself  in  the  founding  of  small  city  states.  In  his 
characterization  of  the  Semitic  type  Professor  J.  F.  Mc- 
Curdy  makes  these  statements:  "Long-continued,  intense 
activity,  within  a  wide  yet  monotonous  and  secluded  terri- 
tory, was  the  habit  of  this  unique  people.  Such  a  habit  of 
necessity  produces  men  eager,  impulsive,  and  intense,  but 
narrow  and  unimaginative.  Such  were  the  prehistoric 
Semites,  and  such  the  Semites  of  history.  Religious,  for 
the  most  part,  rather  than  moral;  patient,  resolute,  endur- 
ing, brave,  serious;  faithful  to  friends,  implacable  toward 
foes — they  have  borne  the  stamp  of  tribalism  all  through 
their  history.  .  .  .  Not  looking  far  around  them,  they  have  at 
times  seen  all  the  farther  beyond  and  above  them.  And 
when  it  has  been  given  them  to  see  straight  and  clear,  they 
have  beheld  'unspeakable  things,  which  it  is  not  possible  for 
a  man  to  utter/  But  they  are  apt  to  see  only  one  thing  at  a 
time,  and  so  in  their  judgments  of  men  and  things  they  were 
exclusive,  partial,  and  extreme."*  To  these  intense  Semites 
men  are  either  good  or  bad,  and  they  themselves  in  their 
contact  with  other  peoples  seem  to  have  exemplified,  as  Pro- 

'  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Extra  Volume,  "Semites." 


JUDAISM  259 

fessor  McCurdy  suggests,  one  or  the  other  of  these  two 
extremes,  being  either  a  blessing  or  a  bane  wherever  they 
have  gone. 

Among  the  Semites  the  clan  was  the  social  unit.  This 
helps  us  to  understand  the  exclusiveness  of  Semitic  religion. 
Each  clan  had  its  own  god  who  was  always  considered  the 
father  or  ancestor  of  the  clan  and  its  peculiar  possession. 
A  man  was  born  into  the  religion  of  his  clan  and  would  as 
little  think  of  changing  his  allegiance  to  another  god  as  he 
would  think  of  changing  his  name  or  his  family.  The  god 
was  with  his  people  in  all  their  enterprises;  his  interests 
were  bound  up  with  theirs.  Then,  too,  the  gods  had  juris- 
diction over  particular  territories,  those  in  which  their  people 
lived,  and  it  was  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  a  god 
to  exert  his  influence  away  from  his  own  country.  In  the 
biblical  narrative  we  find  Naaman  carrying  away  a  little  of 
the  soil  of  Palestine  in  order  to  be  able  to  worship  the  God 
of  Palestine  far  away  in  Syria.*  There  were  as  many  gods 
as  there  were  clans,  and  when  one  clan  conquered  another 
the  victorious  god  became  the  lord  over  the  vanquished 
people.  In  this  case,  however,  the  worship  of  their  old  god 
did  not  cease,  even  though  he  had  not  been  able  to  deliver 
them  out  of  the  hands  of  their  enemy.  Thus  there  came 
to  be  more  than  one  god  in  a  given  territory  until  in  the  end, 
as  in  Babylonia,  there  was  a  pantheon  with  one  great  god 
supreme  over  the  others. 

All  religious  acts  were  clan  acts,  the  god  being  worshiped 
at  the  particular  place  where  he  had  manifested  his  power. 
Here  was  placed  his  symbol,  frequently  a  stone,  to  which 
was  applied  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice.  In  this  way  the 
blood  was  brought  near  the  god,  and  the  god  and  his  people 
symbolized  their  blood-relationship.  Worship,  then,  was 
the  renewal  of  the  blood-bond.  This  was  succeeded  by  a 
common  meal,  the  god  participating  with  his  worshipers  in 
the  festivities.  Religion  was  very  simple  and  happy.  The 

*  2  Kings  5.  17. 


26o  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

thought  of  sin  had  not  arisen  to  clear  consciousness  to  stand 
between  the  deity  and  his  people.  The  identity  of  interests 
between  them  was  not  questioned.  The  individual  as  an 
individual  could  not  be  said  to  have  come  into  being — every 
act  was  that  of  the  community,  and  the  interest  of  each  indi- 
vidual was  swallowed  in  the  larger  interest  of  the  whole 
group.  Much  of  this  is  common  to  other  forms  of  early 
religion;  what  is  distinctively  Semitic  is  its  exclusiveness 
and  humanness.  The  god  takes  his  name  from  a  human 
relationship.  He  is  "master"  or  "lord"  or  "king,"  and  he 
holds  this  relation  to  no  people  other  than  his  own. 

The  after-life  meant  little  to  the  Semites.  The  perpetuity 
of  the  clan  was  looked  for  and  enjoyed  in  prospect.  Indi- 
vidual men  continued  to  exist,  but  it  was  a  shadowy  exist- 
ence in  a  somber  underworld  with  nothing  bright  or  attract- 
ive to  hold  out  hope  of  anything  to  be  compared  with  the 
joy  of  the  present  life.  Every  delineation  was  repelling, 
enough  to  make  a  man  shudder  at  the  very  thought  of  such 
a  possibility.  Religion  had  to  do  with  this  life,  and  when 
men  passed  into  the  great  beyond  they  left  the  world  of 
gods  as  well  as  of  men  behind  them.  Rather  than  think  of 
themselves  as  individuals  in  the  dreary  world  of  shades 
their  minds  were  filled  with  the  prosperity  of  the  clan  as 
it  continued  to  exist  down  through  the  years.  A  man  was 
happy  if  he  had  many  children  in  whom  he  might  feel  that 
he,  too,  was  to  have  part  in  the  deeds  of  the  clan  and  share 
its  joy  and  well-being. 

Semitic  religion  did  not  develop  ancestor  worship  to  the 
same  extent  as  the  religions  of  other  races.  In  fact  it  has 
been  emphatically  denied  that  it  existed  at  all.  Recent  ex- 
cavations, however,  confirm  the  opinion  of  scholars  that 
evidences  of  a  real  ancestor  worship  are  to  be  found.  The 
danger  now  is  that  of  going  to  the  other  extreme  and  making 
too  much  of  it  as  a  factor  in  Semitic  life. 


JUDAISM  261 

THE  HERITAGE  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

The  people  whom  we  know  as  the  Hebrews  or  Israelites 
became  a  separate  people  during  the  period  following  the 
exodus  from  Egypt,  which  occurred  about  the  year  B.  C. 
1230.  On  this  "birthday  of  the  nation"  a  number  of  Semitic 
tribes  who  had  been  in  Egypt  for  many  years  and  had  there 
suffered  severe  hardships  broke  loose  and  began  to  make 
their  way  toward  their  future  home  in  Palestine.  They  were 
under  the  guidance  of  a  leader  named  Moses,  who  proved 
to  be  one  of  the  world's  greatest  heroes  and  nation-builders. 
He  guided  them  to  a  mountain  in  the  wilderness  in  the  penin- 
sula of  Sinai  where,  not  many  months  before,  he  had  come 
to  know  the  name  of  a  wonderful  God,  who  appeared 
to  him  "in  a  flame  of  fire  out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush,"*  and 
who  called  him  to  go  back  and  lead  out  his  people  from 
Egypt.  He  had  undoubtedly  been  known  to  at  least  some  of 
the  people  before,  but,  however  that  may  be,  the  account  in 
Exodus  would  indicate  that  he  came  as  a  new  revelation  to 
Moses  and  the  Israelites  when  they  came  into  the  region  of 
Sinai.  This  God  Yahweh,  or  Jehovah,  as  we  have  incor- 
rectly transliterated  it,  seems  to  have  been  a  God  closely  con- 
nected with  the  volcanic  mountain  near  which  Moses  kept 
the  sheep  of  his  father-in-law  Jethro.  He  manifested  him- 
self in  thunder  and  lightning  and  storm,  a  "God  of  battles," 
who  fought  for  his  people  and  led  them  on  to  victory.  True, 
this  is  not  the  conception  we  get  of  Jehovah  in  the  prophets 
and  the  psalmists  of  a  later  age,  but  it  is  necessary  to  remem- 
ber that  it  was  by  gradual  stages  and  only  after  a  long  devel- 
opment that  the  idea  of  God  became  what  we  see  it  to  be  in 
Jeremiah  and  Isaiah.  Yahweh  was  to  these  early  tribesmen 
the  divine  Being  who  had  his  residence  in  the  sacred  moun- 
tain and  who  was  willing  to  become  their  special  protector — 
they  had  not  risen  to  the  sublime  heights  of  the  monotheism 
of  a  later  day. 

8  Exod.  3. 2. 


262  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

The  relation  between  this  God  and  his  people  was  based  on 
a  covenant  or  agreement.  This  covenant  was  not  founded 
on  blood-relationship,  as  though  Yahweh  was  bound  to  them 
by  the  indissoluble  bonds  of  kinship;  it  was  far  freer  and 
more  voluntary  than  that.  The  covenant  was  a  mutual 
agreement  or  contract  in  which  each  side  assumed  certain 
obligations  which  it  was  bound  to  carry  out  so  long  as  the 
other  party  to  the  contract  remained  true  and  loyal.  And 
when  it  is  remembered  that  this  agreement  was  morally  con- 
ditioned its  uniqueness  and  greatness  become  evident.  The 
conditions  laid  down,  which  the  people  of  Israel  were  bound 
to  recognize  and  obey,  demanded  of  them  rigid  adherence 
to  moral  principle.  Here  lay  the  possibility  of  the  moral 
and  spiritual  advance  which  marks  Judaism  as  the  religion 
of  which  more  could  be  expected  than  of  all  the  other  reli- 
gions of  the  ancient  world.  This  covenant  was  interpreted 
in  ethical  terms  more  and  more  as  the  centuries  passed  until 
Jeremiah  could  affirm  that  the  covenant  was  no  longer  to  be 
considered  as  an  outer  law  written  on  "tables  of  stone,"  but 
as  an  inner  law,  a  spiritual  principle,  written  in  the  hearts  of 
men.  But  in  the  early  day  everything  was  crude.  The 
presence  of  Yahweh  was  assured  by  the  outward  symbol 
of  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  which  was  taken  from  place  to 
place,  which  went  before  them  into  battle,  and  which  must 
be  protected  on  pain  of  losing  the  divine  help  and  presence. 

When  these  people  with  their  desert  training  came  into 
the  land  which  had  been  promised  they  ran  the  great  danger 
of  fusion  with  the  peoples  already  there  and  of  losing  the 
distinctness  of  their  covenant  relation  with  Yahweh.  The 
book  of  Judges  shows  how  great  this  peril  really  was.  They 
had  been  nomads  living  a  wandering  life  in  the  open  and 
free  desert;  now  they  began  to  accustom  themselves  to  the 
more  settled  life  of  agriculture,  and  this  meant  a  change  in 
all  their  habits  and  ways  of  looking  at  things.  And  since 
they  were  learning  so  much  from  the  Canaanites,  among 
whom  they  settled  and  who  were  never  driven  out  com- 


JUDAISM  263 

pletely,  was  it  not  to  be  expected  that  they  might  absorb 
much  of  their  religion?  This  was  the  great  danger,  a 
danger  seen  in  its  true  light  when  we  know  the  kind  of 
religion  it  was,  with  licentiousness  and  cruelty  practiced  in 
the  very  temples  of  the  gods.  Yahweh  was  looked  upon  as 
the  "Lord"  of  their  land,  but  the  gods  of  other  peoples  and 
lands  were  recognized  as  having  their  territory  and  people 
too.  An  interesting  incident  is  recorded  of  David,8  when 
he  reasons  with  Saul,  urging  him  not  to  drive  him  out  of 
the  land  of  Yahweh,  on  the  ground  that  such  an  act  on  Saul's 
part  would  virtually  mean  that  he  sends  David  out  of  the 
territory  of  Yahweh  and  says,  "Go,  serve  other  gods." 

During  all  this  period  the  religion  was  saved  from  absorp- 
tion by  the  judges  and  the  guilds  or  "schools"  of  prophets, 
which  were  bands  of  patriotic  men  who  kept  alive  in  the 
people  their  loyalty  to  the  God  who  had  been  with  them  and 
delivered  them  so  often.  Strange,  wild  men  they  were,  as 
the  narrative  in  Samuel  indicates,  but  they  accomplished 
their  purpose,  and  must  be  judged  by  this  accomplishment 
rather  than  by  our  judgment  as  to  what  a  prophet  or  spirit- 
ual leader  ought  to  be.  The  founding  of  the  monarchy  under 
Saul  and  its  extension  under  David  and  Solomon  gave  ma- 
terial assistance  in  the  same  direction.  But  even  then  the 
worship  was  crude  and  undefined,  being  conducted  at  many 
shrines,  the  old  centers  of  Canaanitish  worship,  and  contain- 
ing elements  which  must  be  put  aside  as  the  spiritual  per- 
ceptions of  the  people  became  sharpened.  This  took  place 
under  the  inspiration  of  prophetic  leaders  who  began  to 
appear  even  before  the  division  of  the  kingdoms  and  who 
in  the  end  ushered  in  a  new  era  of  religious  history. 

Elijah  stands  out  as  one  of  the  great  commanding  fig- 
ures in  the  history  of  religion.  In  his  time  again  the  danger 
of  serious  contamination  by  contact  with  the  Baal  wor- 
ship of  the  Phoenicians  menaces  the  people  and  their  reli- 
gion, and  Elijah  suddenly  appears  as  the  heroic  patriot  who 

9 1  Sam.  26.  17-19. 


264          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

is  not  afraid  to  use  the  most  drastic  measures  to  prevent 
the  threatened  corruption.  He  is  a  man  of  action,  adding 
little  or  nothing  to  the  religious  conception  of  his  people. 
That  was  left  to  the  remarkable  group  of  men  who,  appear- 
ing first  in  the  eighth  century,  took  the  ideas  of  religion 
already  in  the  possession  of  the  Hebrew  people  and  refash- 
ioned them  into  the  sublime  faith  which  was  worthy  to  be 
the  foundation  of  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  and  the  writers 
of  the  New  Testament.  When  Amos  came  into  the  city  of 
Bethel  and  proclaimed  the  judgment  of  the  God  of  Israel 
on  all  the  nations  round  about  and  on  Israel  and  Judah 
as  well,  a  new  day  had  dawned.  True  monotheism,  founded 
on  God's  right  to  judge  all  peoples  on  the  basis  of  a  single 
moral  standard,  began  to  come  to  its  own,  and  in  the  hands 
of  Jeremiah  and  Isaiah  and  the  gifted  though  unknown 
"Evangelist  of  the  Exile"  received  a  statement  so  complete 
and  so  sublime  that  ever  after  and  to  this  day  men  have 
been  compelled  to  go  back  to  these  inspired  utterances  to 
drink  in  the  full  meaning  of  the  unity  of  God  and  his 
ethical  character.  This  is  the  great  gift  of  the  Jewish  people 
to  the  religious  life  of  the  world,  a  permanent  possession 
which  can  never  be  superseded.  This  is  the  priceless  heri- 
tage of  the  Old  Testament  to  Judaism  and  to  the  whole 
subsequent  religious  development  of  the  human  race,  what- 
ever its  final  form  may  be. 

The  Messianic  hope,  the  universalism  of  the  prophets, 
the  development  of  the  Law,  the  spiritual  experience  of  the 
psalmists,  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  men,  the  apocalyptic 
vision — these  and  other  features  of  the  Old  Testament  rev- 
elation have  not  and  cannot  be  mentioned.  All  that  has  been 
attempted  has  been  to  trace,  and  that  with  extreme  brevity, 
the  development  of  the  central  message,  the  supreme  gift  of 
the  Old  Testament  to  the  progress  of  religion  in  the  world. 
The  belief  in  one  God  who  hates  sin  and  loves  righteousness, 
a  belief  which  the  Jew  has  never  been  tempted  to  forget 
since  the  days  of  the  Babylonian  exile,  is  the  indispensable 


JUDAISM  265 

foundation  on  which  any  faith  which  claims  to  be  universal 
must  be  built. 

JUDAISM  SINCE  THE  TIME  OF  CHRIST 

The  Jews  have  no  country  they  can  call  their  own,  yet 
they  are  at  home  everywhere.  This  ubiquitous  people  has 
been  dispersed  over  all  the  world  and  no  civilized  land  is 
without  its  representatives.  Despite  the  great  longing  which 
has  possessed  their  souls  to  return  and  be  a  nation  once 
more  in  Palestine  there  is  little  likelihood  that  the  Jew  will 
cease  to  be  a  part  of  the  nationality  of  the  countries  to  which 
he  has  gone.  The  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  General  Allenby 
and  the  opening  up  of  the  country  to  settlement  by  Jews 
under  a  stable  government  will  attract  many  of  the  race, 
particularly  those  who  have  undergone  bloody  repression  in 
eastern  Europe  during  recent  years,  but  will  probably  not 
result  in  diminishing  the  number  of  Jews  in  the  countries 
where  they  have  prospered  and  have  been  given  rights  as 
citizens  of  the  land.  Since  the  days  of  the  Babylonian  cap- 
tivity they  have  been  a  scattered  people ;  the  destruction  of 
the  temple  in  Jerusalem  and  the  final  loss  of  nationality 
drove  them  out  into  every  corner  of  the  world. 

Their  history  has  been  a  sad  one.  Success  has  attended 
their  commercial  ventures,  but  unfortunately  they  have  been 
the  prey  all  too  often  of  avaricious  princes  and  kings.  Dis- 
liked by  almost  all  the  peoples  among  whom  they  have  set- 
tled, they  have  been  driven  off  by  themselves  into  ghettos 
where  for  hundreds  of  years  they  have  lived  a  life  apart. 
Not  satisfied  by  such  treatment,  the  populace  and  their 
leaders  have  frequently  vented  their  rage  in  the  bitterest  per- 
secution, and  too  often  this  has  been  done  in  the  name  of  the 
Christian  religion.  The  enmity  between  Jew  and  Christian 
dates  back  to  the  first  century  and  continued  unabated 
through  the  Middle  Ages  and  well  down  into  modern  times. 
In  the  days  of  their  weakness  the  Christians  were  the  ones 
to  suffer  at  the  hands  of  the  Jews  or  at  their  instigation, 


266  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

but  the  tables  were  soon  turned  and  the  growth  of  Christian- 
ity and  its  assumption  of  power  boded  ill  for  the  Jew.  This 
unchristian  enmity  has  continued  to  our  own  time.  While 
for  the  most  part  persecution  has  ceased  and  the  Jew  has 
come  to  his  own  in  western  Europe  and  America,  the  feeling 
of  despite  and  hatred  is  still  too  frequently  to  be  found.  In 
eastern  Europe,  however,  the  situation  has  been  far  different. 
There  cruel  persecution  has  been  felt  in  recent  days,  while 
the  bloody  pogroms  in  Russia  attest  the  intensity  of  the 
hatred  which  still  dominates  the  masses  and  even  the  offi- 
cials, who  are  frequently  responsible  for  the  horrible  out- 
breaks. We  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  such  experi- 
ences lie  in  the  past  and  that  the  security  which  the  Jew  en- 
joys with  his  fellow  nationals  in  other  countries  will  soon 
be  extended  to  every  land  where  he  has  made  his  home. 
With  more  Jews  living  in  the  world  to-day  than  at  any  other 
time  in  their  whole  history  the  future  would  seem  to  be 
bright  as  they  face  with  vigor  and  enthusiasm  the  years 
to  come. 

It  was  exceedingly  unfortunate  that  for  so  many  centuries 
the  Jew  should  have  been  compelled  to  live  with  little  inter- 
course with  the  Gentile  world.  Not  only  was  the  European 
intolerant;  the  Jew  was  clannish  and  narrow;  he  preferred 
to  live  his  life  alone.  But  since  the  liberating  days  of  the 
French  Revolution  they  have  broken  through  their  isolation 
and  begun  to  share  the  life  of  the  people  around  them. 
Thanks  to  one  of  their  greatest  leaders,  Moses  Mendelssohn 
(1729-1786),  the  Jewish  people  were  led  gradually  to  see 
that  their  future  must  lie  in  sharing  the  common  life  of  the 
people  in  the  midst  of  whom  they  lived.  During  all  the 
years  of  their  isolation  they  had  preserved  a  vigorous  intel- 
lectual life,  but  unfortunately  it  was  too  closely  concerned 
with  their  own  circle  of  interests,  their  history,  their  Law, 
and  their  religion,  but  now  a  change  takes  place.  Entering 
the  universities  and  feeling  the  force  of  the  intellectual 
currents  of  the  time,  the  Jew  became  a  citizen  of  the  mod- 


JUDAISM  267 

ern  world.  His  brilliant  gifts,  which  had  been  but  slightly 
known,  began  to  be  manifest  and  after  no  long  period  he 
appeared  in  positions  of  leadership  in  varied  forms  of  activ- 
ity. He  is  now  an  integral  part  of  our  world,  taking  his 
place  by  the  side  of  his  fellow-citizens  in  every  walk  of  life. 
He  is  distinct  in  race,  but  one  with  us  in  nationality.  With 
unparalleled  tenacity  he  has  clung  to  his  racial  distinctive- 
ness,  and  has  done  so  because  it  is  bound  up  so  closely  with 
his  religion,  which  to  him  would  be  lost  if  he  did  not  pre- 
serve his  uniqueness  as  a  people. 

The  loss  of  nationality  and  the  destruction  of  the  temple 
and  the  sacrificial  system  by  the  Romans  caused  a  profound 
change  in  the  Jewish  religion.  Other  means  had  to  be  found 
to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  people  and  preserve  their  reli- 
gious life.  Deep  in  their  breasts  was  the  belief  in  the  one 
God  of  Israel — they  could  no  longer  be  alienated  from  him. 
In  their  hands  was  the  Old  Testament,  the  Torah,  or  Law, 
which  became  more  precious  as  they  were  scattered  far  and 
wide  and  needed  the  support  of  a  divine  revelation.  Com- 
mon worship  on  the  holy  Sabbath  day  was  possible  through 
the  institution  of  the  synagogue,  which  had  become  a  part 
of  their  life  during  the  exile  while  they  were  deprived  of 
the  ministries  of  the  temple  and  the  recurring  feasts  which 
bound  them  to  the  soil  of  their  native  land.  Not  only  so, 
but  the  people  of  Israel,  wherever  they  found  themselves, 
felt  certain  that  their  old  covenant  with  Jehovah  held  good, 
and,  while  the  Ark  with  the  tables  of  stone  might  be  de- 
stroyed, the  new  covenant  was  indelibly  written  in  their 
hearts  and  must  remain  in  force  forever. 

Judaism  has  always  been  a  religion  of  Law  and  remains 
such  to-day.  It  is  easy  to  misinterpret  the  term  and  accuse 
the  Jew  of  being  a  narrow  legalist.  That  this  danger  has 
not  been  averted  is  freely  acknowledged  by  leading  Jewish 
scholars,  but  to  use  it  as  a  term  of  reproach  and  as  applicable 
to  the  religion  as  such  would  be  unjust.  As  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament period  and  at  the  time  of  Christ  Jewish  men  and 


268          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

women  had  penetrated  behind  the  form  to  its  inner  spiritual 
principle,  so  down  through  the  ages  the  spiritually  minded 
have  found  God  and  have  been  nourished,  not  on  the  dry 
husks  of  legal  formalism,  but  on  the  living  bread  which  has 
come  down  from  heaven.  But  when  we  have  said  this  the 
fact  remains  that  to  be  a  Jew  meant  to  keep  the  Law. 
Obedience  to  a  written  code  has  been  the  mark  of  the  reli- 
gion. Everything  in  conduct,  even  down  to  the  most  insig- 
nificant details,  was  determined  exactly,  and  to  fail  in  the 
observance  of  the  written  word  was  unthinkable  in  a  well- 
regulated  Jewish  household. 

As  might  be  expected,  various  codes  have  been  con- 
structed. Back  of  them  all  lies  the  Law,  embedded  in  the 
Old  Testament.  This  was  God's  voice  speaking  His  mes- 
sage in  a  form  never  to  be  superseded.  But  it  was  necessary 
to  apply  it  to  new  situations  as  time  passed,  hence  the  need 
of  further  writings.  The  Sacred  Scriptures  needed  inter- 
pretation for  practical  and  homiletic  purposes,  and  this  was 
done  in  a  long  series  of  expositions  written  through  many 
centuries  called  the  Midrash,  which  means  "inquiry"  or 
"interpretation."  The  Talmud  is  the  great  codification  of 
Jewish  law,  civil  and  canonical.  It  consists  of  two  parts,  the 
Mishna,  or  the  text  of  the  rules  and  regulations,  and  the 
Gemara,  or  the  commentary.  The  Talmud  exists  in  two 
recensions,  the  Palestinian  and  the  Babylonian,  the  latter 
being  later  in  time  and  by  far  the  longer  of  the  two.  It  was 
completed  about  the  year  A.  D.  500.  This  greaf  body  of  law 
is  the  mine  from  which  Jewish  scholars  in  all  subsequent 
ages  have  produced  the  precious  truths  and  traditions  on 
which  the  people  have  been  nourished.  The  Haggada,  or 
non-legal  part,  consisting  of  expositions  of  the  Bible  narra- 
tives, and  the  Halacha,  or  legal  sections,  dealing  with  all 
phases  of  conduct  and  ceremonial,  together  comprise  the 
great  mass  of  rabbinical  lore  to  be  found  in  the  Midrash  and 
in  the  Talmud.  Based  on  the  accumulated  stores  to  be  found 
in  these  works  other  collections  of  laws  have  been  formulated. 


JUDAISM  269 

Among  them  is  that  of  the  great  Spanish  Rabbi,  Maimonides 
(1135-1204),  who  in  1180  produced  a  code  of  law  and  cus- 
tom called  the  "Strong  Hand/'  which  has  been  very  influ- 
ential among  the  Jews  to  the  present  time.  Most  Jews  to- 
day, however,  live  under  the  "Table  Prepared,"  which  was 
compiled  by  Joseph  Caro  in  the  sixteenth  century  and  is  a 
resume  of  the  whole  traditional  law.  But  with  all  that  has 
been  done  to  revivify  the  Law  and  make  it  appear  as  a  living 
expression  of  the  will  of  God,  the  great  problem  is  to  make 
it  an  abiding  force  in  the  advancing  Jewish  community  to- 
day. There  is  revolt  against  the  binding  character  of  the 
multitudinous  rules  and  regulations,  which  touch  not  only 
the  fundamental  moral  obligations,  but  cover  an  immense 
range  of  ceremonial  observances  and  customs.  These  have 
become  exceedingly  irksome  to  the  modern  Jew  in  the 
western  world,  who  does  not  want  to  be  marked  off  from 
his  fellows  by  obsolete  and  meaningless  practices. 

Judaism  may  be  said  to  have  no  definite  articles  of  belief. 
A  man's  actions  and  conduct  were  most  carefully  regulated, 
but  his  beliefs  were  without  any  authoritative  ecclesiastical 
sanction.  This  has  led  to  laxity  in  belief  along  with  great 
strictness  in  conduct.  Dogmatic  tests  could  not  be  applied, 
and  few  have  been  excommunicated  for  heresy.  Notwith- 
standing this,  attempts  frequently  have  been  made  to  formu- 
late the  beliefs  of  Judaism,  but  never  have  they  been  suc- 
cessful, and  Mendelssohn  used  his  influence  to  discourage 
anyone  from  any  further  ventures  in  this  direction.  To 
him  religion  was  a  life  and  not  a  creed,  and  could  not  be 
compressed  within  the  bounds  of  a  formula. 

But  Judaism  has  believed,  and  believed  with  great  earnest- 
ness, in  a  few  great  doctrines.  At  the  head  and  transcend- 
ing all  others  is  the  unalterable  belief  in  one  God,  high  and 
lifted  up,  the  Creator  and  sustainer  of  the  universe,  who  at 
the  same  time  is  a  Father  brooding  over  His  children  with 
tender  love.  He  is  the  God  of  justice  and  truth  who  will 
brook  no  lowering  of  the  moral  standard,  and  who  will  one 


270  THE  RELIGIONS  OF  MANKIND 

day  judge  the  world  in  righteousness.  A  list  of  thirteen 
articles  of  faith  was  constructed  by  Maimonides,  "the  one 
and  only  set  of  principles  which  have  ever  enjoyed  wide 
authority  in  Judaism."1  "These  are:  (i)  Belief  in  the  exist- 
ence of  God,  the  Creator;  (ii)  belief  in  the  unity  of  God; 
(iii)  belief  in  the  incorporeality  of  God;  (iv)  belief  in  the 
priority  and  eternity  of  God ;  (v)  belief  that  to  God,  and  God 
alone,  worship  must  be  offered;  (vi)  belief  in  prophecy; 
(vii)  belief  that  Moses  was  the  greatest  of  all  prophets; 
(viii)  belief  that  the  Law  was  revealed  from  heaven;  (ix) 
belief  that  the  Law  will  never  be  abrogated,  and  that  no 
other  Law  will  ever  come  from  God;  (x)  belief  that  God 
knows  the  works  of  men;  (xi)  belief  in  reward  and  pun- 
ishment; (xii)  belief  in  the  coming  of  the  Messiah;  (xiii) 
belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."  Maimonides  was 
deeply  influenced,  as  were  so  many  thinkers  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  by  Aristotle.  He  believed  in  the  revelation  to  be 
found  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  sought  to  show  that  the 
truths  of  revelation  were  in  harmony  with  reason  and  could 
be  thoroughly  rationalized. 

Down  through  Jewish  history  have  come  these  two 
streams  of  law  and  creed,  one  stringent  and  the  other  lax, 
but  there  have  been  other  tendencies.  The  Kabbala  was  a 
revolt  against  the  intellectualism  of  the  schools.  It  was  a 
system  of  occult  knowledge  and  mysticism,  which  exercised 
a  strange  fascination  over  many  minds  both  in  Judaism  and 
Christianity.  By  uniting  man  and  the  divine  Spirit  through 
the  practice  of  virtue  and  the  overcoming  of  evil,  prepara- 
tion would  be  made  for  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  who  will 
restore  all  things.  But  here,  too,  there  was  excess  in  emo- 
tion and  in  mystical  vagaries,  and  the  inevitable  reaction 
came.  A  new  intellectualism  arose  with  vigorous  advocates. 
The  limit  was  reached  by  Spinoza  (b.  1632)  who,  depending 
on  pure  thought,  reduced  the  whole  system  of  the  universe 
to  a  thoroughgoing  pantheism.  With  all  these  currents 

TI.  Abrahams,  Judaism,  p.  31!.     (Constable,  London,  1910.) 


JUDAISM  271 

streaming  through  her  life  Judaism  emerged  into  the  activ- 
ities of  the  modern  world  something  more  than  a  hundred 
years  ago.  A  new  era  opened  out  before  the  Jew  which  has 
profoundly  affected  the  religious  life  and  thought  of  the 
people. 

ORTHODOXY  AND  REFORM 

When  Judaism  came  into  intimate  contact  with  modern 
thought  and  began  to  take  a  new  part  in  the  activities  of  the 
world  a  crisis  could  not  but  be  precipitated.  There  were 
those  who  sought  to  keep  their  religion  true  to  the  traditions 
of  the  past  and  were  scandalized  by  the  thought  of  change. 
They  have  continued  down  to  our-  own  time  and  form  a 
very  considerable  part  of  the  people.  But  even  among  these 
conservatives  the  modern  world  has  had  its  effect  and  all 
degrees  of  modification  of  the  old  standards  can  be  discov- 
ered. On  the  other  hand  there  is  the  Reform  school  com- 
posed of  liberals  who  believe  that  the  only  hope  of  the  race 
and  the  religion  is  to  admit  frankly  that  changes  more  or 
less  drastic  must  be  introduced  and  that  Judaism  must 
reinterpret  itself  in  the  light  of  modern  knowledge.  It  is 
admitted  on  both  sides  that  the  differences  do  not  constitute 
a  schism,  but  may  best  be  denominated  as  "schools."  In  the 
words  of  the  late  lamented  Dr.  Solomon  Schechter,  a  leader 
of  the  conservative  wing,  each  party  might  look  upon  the 
other  as  "His  Majesty's  Opposition"8  in  one  great  Parlia- 
ment of  Judaism. 

There  is  complete  agreement  in  both  parties  on  certain 
fundamental  points.  The  primary  and  inalienable  doctrine 
of  the  faith  is  the  unity  of  God,  and,  of  course,  there  is  not 
the  slightest  hesitation  here.  Judaism  stands  or  falls  on  the 
platform  of  monotheism.  So  sure  is  she  of  her  ground  that 
her  leaders  make  bold  to  claim  that  the  two  "daughter" 
religions,  Christianity  and  Islam,  have  each  done  despite  to 

8  Seminary  Addresses  and  other  Papers,  p.  239.  (Ark  Pub.  Co., 
Cincinnati,  1913.) 


272  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

this  central  doctrine.  Christianity,  they  declare,  has  ceased 
to  believe  in  the  essential  unity  of  God  by  its  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  and  Islam  has  lost  the  high  ethical  note  of  both 
Judaism  and  Christianity  while  it  has  been  an  unswerving  wit- 
ness to  the  one  God  as  an  indivisible  unity.  Another  point 
of  agreement  is  with  reference  to  the  Jewish  people  as  the 
chosen  race.  The  ancient  call  of  God  to  Abraham  and  his 
descendants  in  biblical  times  holds  good  and  is  a  cardinal 
point  of  emphasis  to-day.  The  race  must  be  preserved  in- 
tact and  all  intermarriage  with  Gentiles  is  severely  con- 
demned. And  when  it  comes  to  the  acceptance  by  any  mem- 
ber of  the  race  of  the  claims  of  Christianity  the  anathemas 
which  are  heaped  upon  the  heads  of  these  "perverts"  are 
the  bitterest  of  all  the  invectives  of  which  the  Jew  is  capable. 
But  with  all  this  the  conservative  is  not  quite  convinced  that 
the  liberal  has  not  let  down  the  bars  to  such  an  extent  that 
fusion  with  the  surrounding  community  may  ultimately 
result  and  the  Jews  as  a  distinct  people  cease  to  exist. 

Since  the  days  of  the  exile,  when  the  unknown  prophet 
gave  expression  to  the  splendid  universalism  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  book  of  Isaiah,  that  note  has  not  been  lacking  in 
Judaism.  True,  a  narrow  particularism  has  more  often  been 
victorious  than  the  more  liberal,  wider  view,  but  it  has  been 
there  nevertheless.  The  book  of  Jonah  voices  the  protest 
against  the  narrowness  of  the  period  following  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah,  and  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  testimonies  to 
the  ideal  of  universalism  we  have.  The  Maccabean  revolt 
naturally  resulted  in  an  exclusive  attitude  toward  other 
peoples,  but  soon  after  an  active  propaganda  was  instituted 
which  resulted  in  the  addition  of  thousands  of  converts  to 
the  synagogues  scattered  over  the  Roman  empire.  These 
proselytes  were  either  incorporated  completely  in  the  Jew- 
ish community,  by  accepting  the  moral  obligations  of  the 
religion  and  also  submitting  to  the  authority  of  the  cere- 
monial regulations,  or  became  "Proselytes  of  the  Gate," 
men  who  feared  the  God  of  Israel  and  acknowledged  the 


JUDAISM  273 

binding  character  of  the  moral  law,  but  did  not  become  cir- 
cumcised and  thus  completely  amalgamated  with  the  Jewish 
people.  At  the  time  of  Christ  the  school  of  Hillel  and  the 
school  of  Shammai  were  in  conflict,  the  former  standing  for 
the  broad  and  generous  policy  which  furthered  the  winning 
of  proselytes,  the  latter  being  narrow  and  exclusive  and 
opposing  all  efforts  to  reach  out  after  others.  The  school 
of  Shammai  was  finally  victorious  and  with  the  loss  of 
nationality  the  Jew  has  not  sought  to  win  converts  to  his 
religion. 

This  condition  has  obtained  down  through  the  centuries, 
and  even  to-day,  when  a  different  outlook  has  become  the 
ideal  of  the  more  liberal  Jews,  no  missionary  propaganda  is 
contemplated.  Still  the  universal  note  is  being  sounded 
and  the  mission  of  Israel  to  the  nations  is  earnestly  ac- 
claimed. The  form  taken  by  this  ideal  differs  among  the 
orthodox  and  the  Reform  Jews.  Holding  fast  the  pro- 
phetic vision  of  a  coming  Messiah  who  shall  be  born  of 
their  race  and  be  established  in  power  and  righteousness  in 
Jerusalem,  the  men  of  orthodox  faith  see  all  nations  coming 
to  do  him  honor  and  acknowledging  his  rightful  sway  over 
the  world.  They  shall  all  worship  the  one  God  Jehovah 
and  spread  His  name  far  and  wide  until  the  knowledge  of 
Jehovah  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. 
But  in  it  all  the  Jew  remains  distinct  and  stands  first,  the 
chosen  of  God,  His  messenger  peculiarly  fitted  to  do  his 
bidding  and  accomplish  his  desires.  Such  is  the  hope  and 
expectation  of  the  more  conservative  wing  of  Judaism. 
The  Reform  Jews,  on  the  other  hand,  have  a  different  ideal. 
Universalism  is  far  more  prominent  as  an  immediate  possi- 
bility than  among  the  orthodox.  According  to  several  dec- 
larations of  conferences  of  American  liberal  rabbis,  "The 
Messianic  aim  of  Israel  is  not  the  restoration  of  the  old 
Jewish  state  under  a  descendant  of  David,  involving  a  second 
separation  from  the  nations  of  the  earth,  but  the  union  of  all 
children  of  God  in  the  confession  of  the  unity  of  God,  so 


274          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

as  to  realize  the  unity  of  all  rational  creatures  and  their  call 
to  moral  sanctification."'  And  again,  to  use  the  words  of 
one  of  the  leading  authorities,  "The  Messianic  idea  now 
means  to  many  Jews  a  belief  in  human  development  and 
progress,  with  the  Jews  filling  the  role  of  the  Messianic 
people,  but  only  as  primus  inter  pares."11 

Fear  is  expressed  on  the  part  of  the  conservatives  that 
their  liberal  brethren  are  breaking  down  the  wall  of  parti- 
tion between  Jew  and  Gentile.  It  is  possible  now  for  one 
who  belongs  to  another  race  to  ask  for  admission  to  a  Re- 
form synagogue  and  be  received.  This  to  a  conservative  is 
rank  heresy.  Their  fundamental  beliefs  may  be  the  same, 
but  these  new-fangled  notions  are  sure  to  wreck  the  hopes 
of  the  children  of  Israel.  But  even  the  most  liberal  are 
strongly  of  the  opinion  that  since  monotheism  has  not  yet 
prevailed  and  Christianity  has  not  succeeded  in  keeping  the 
doctrine  unsullied  their  witness  is  essential  to  the  religious 
development  of  the  world  and  that  this  can  best  be  accom- 
plished by  the  preservation  of  a  people  whose  testimony  to 
the  one  true  God  is  clear  and  unalloyed. 

In  the  matter  of  the  ceremonial  law  and  the  historic  festi- 
vals there  is  also  a  deep  cleavage.  In  different  degrees  the 
orthodox  hold  fast  the  ancient  traditions  and  with  reluc- 
tance allow  modifications  to  be  introduced.  They  do  not 
want  to  remove  the  old  landmarks,  and  fear  disintegration 
as  a  result.  The  Reform  Jew,  on  the  other  hand,  takes  the 
position  that  ceremonies  must  prove  their  value  under  the 
conditions  which  now  prevail,  that  they  must  not  be  retained 
merely  because  they  have  come  down  out  of  the  past  and 
have  a  certain  historical  value.  In  fact,  he  takes  every- 
thing in  Judaism — law,  creed,  ceremony,  and  custom — and 
subjects  it  to  a  searching  criticism.  He  desires  his  religion 
to  be  efficient  in  the  present  day,  and  is  willing  to  lay  aside 
any  item  which  may  seem  to  him  an  encumbrance.  The 

'  Quoted  in  I.  Abrahams,  Judaism,  p.  93!. 
10 1.  Abrahams,  op.  cit,  p.  94. 


JUDAISM  275 

pragmatic  test  is  applied  with  vigor,  and  the  conservative 
stands  by  and  wonders  whether  out  of  the  process  anything 
worthy  the  ancient  glory  of  Israel  will  remain.  Yet  what 
is  happening  before  our  eyes  is  inevitable,  and  we  may  be 
sure  that  with  all  its  transmutations  Judaism  will  long  re- 
main a  religion  among  the  religions  of  the  world.  With 
their  belief  in  one  God,  a  God  of  moral  concern,  whose 
influence  has  pervaded  every  relationship,  given  sanctity  to 
the  home  and  dignity  to  the  individual  life,  a  belief  which 
has  made  prayer  and  praise  a  constant  practice  of  the  people 
and  has  held  them  together  through  appalling  experiences 
which  might  have  shattered  a  spirit  less  tenacious,  the 
people  of  Israel  are  with  us  to-day  believing  in  themselves 
and  in  their  destiny.  Spurning  the  idea  of  a  mediator  be- 
tween God  and  men  and  rejecting  the  claims  of  that  Man 
of  Jewish  race  who  would  have  led  his  people  into  a  ful- 
fillment of  their  highest  ideals,  they  have  been  kept  apart 
from  a  fellowship  which  might  have  brought  in  the  era  of 
peace  among  the  nations  generations  or  even  centuries 
ago.  What  the  future  has  in  store  we  cannot  say,  but  trust- 
ing in  the  same  God  and  reading  the  same  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  Testament  the  Christian  cannot  but  believe  that  the 
revelation  of  that  God  which  is  contained  in  those  writings 
may  yet  assume  to  the  Jew  a  new  glory  when  seen  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

W.  Robertson  Smith,  The  Religion  of  the  Semites  (London,  new 
edit.,  1914).  An  epoch  making  volume  on  the  early  religion  of 
the  Semitic  peoples. 

George  A.  Barton,  The  Religion  of  Israel  (New  York,  1918).  A 
short  but  excellent  sketch  of  the  Old  Testament  Period. 

Israel  Abrahams,  Judaism  (London,  1910).  A  splendid  little  sum- 
mary of  the  entire  development. 

K.  Kohler,  Jewish  Theology  (New  York,  1918).  An  extended 
statement  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Reform  School. 

George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  Vol.  II,  Chaps.  I-IV. 


CHAPTER  XI 
MOHAMMEDANISM 

THE  PROPHET 

ISLAM/  the  religion  of  Mohammed,  arose  in  Arabia.  The 
followers  of  the  Prophet  fondly  believe  that  their  religion 
was  a  new  creation,  handed  down  bodily  and  in  finished  form 
from  heaven.  But  even  a  rapid  survey  of  the  origins  of  the 
faith  is  sufficient  to  show  that,  with  all  Mohammed  added, 
the  religion  is  firmly  rooted  in  the  past,  and  has  received  a 
number  of  its  characteristic  features  from  the  preexisting 
heathenism  of  Arabia.  The  isolation  and  inaccessibility  of 
the  peninsula  provided  the  conditions  in  which  a  develop- 
ment could  take  place  hidden  from  the  rest  of  the  world 
until  it  was  ready  to  start  on  its  victorious  march  almost  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  Wellhausen  speaks  of  the  gods  of 
Arabia  as  a  "Rubbish-heap  of  divine  names";8  that  is,  the 
old  religion  was  in  a  state  of  decrepitude.  There  were 
many  of  these  deities,  the  most  prominent  of  which  was 
Allah.  He  was  regarded  as  "the  God,"  the  supreme  being, 
having  three  daughters.  Professor  Theodor  Noldeke  be- 
lieves that  the  name  Allah  may  have  been  applied  to  a  num- 
ber of  gods,  and  only  gradually  became  the  proper  name  of 
the  Supreme  God.a  So  Mohammed  did  not  invent  his  God ; 
he  clarified  the  conception  and  rid  God  of  "partners,"  but 
the  monotheistic  idea  was  not  new  to  Arabia  when  the 
Prophet  arose.  Mecca  was  already  a  sacred  city,  the  most 
sacred  in  the  land;  with  the  cubical  building,  the  Kaaba,  the 
center  of  worship.  Near  by  was  the  holy  well,  Zemzem, 

1  Islam  means  "to  submit,"  and  is  the  religion  of  submission  to  the 
will  of  God.  Moslem,  "one  who  has  submitted,"  is  the  name  fre- 
quently used  of  the  followers  of  Mohammed. 

'Hastings'  Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  article,  "Arabs 
(Ancient)." 

276 


MOHAMMEDANISM  277 

from  which  all  pilgrims  still  drink.  The  whole  ritual  of 
worship  which  is  still  followed  was  in  existence  and  was 
taken  over  complete  into  his  religion  by  Mohammed.  Islam 
was  not  a  bolt  out  of  the  blue,  but  an  adaptation  of  much 
that  was  old,  thinly  disguised  and  still  persisting. 

Mohammed,  "the  Praised,"  was  born  in  Mecca  in  570 
A.  D.,  the  posthumous  son  of  Abdallah,  of  the  tribe  of  the 
Koraish.  His  mother  died  when  he  was  a  little  lad,  and  he 
was  given  a  home  first  by  his  grandfather  and  then  by  his 
uncle  Abu  Talib.  As  a  young  child  he  was  sent  to  be  nursed 
and  cared  for  by  a  Bedouin  woman  in  the  desert.  Mecca 
was  not  a  place  where  children  could  be  expected  to  thrive, 
so  his  mother  was  following  a  well-known  custom.  His 
mother's  death,  which  probably  occurred  shortly  after  his 
return,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  boy.  He  never  for- 
got that  his  mother  had  been  left  a  widow  and  he  an  orphan. 
Throughout  his  life  Mohammed  was  always  solicitous  that 
widows  and  orphans  were  cared  for,  and  it  has  left  an  abid- 
ing mark  on  the  religion  which  he  founded.  As  a  boy  he 
doubtless  tended  his  uncle's  sheep.  As  he  grew  older  he 
must  have  joined  the  caravans,  which,  with  the  entertain- 
ment of  the  pilgrims  at  the  time  of  the  feasts,  were  the  source 
of  Mecca's  wealth.  We  do  not  know,  but  he  may  have  vis- 
ited distant  parts  of  Arabia  and  the  adjacent  countries  in 
this  way.  It  is  quite  certain  that  he  made  at  least  one  trip 
to  the  borders  of  Syria.  This  period  of  his  life  is  obscure. 
He  seems  to  have  been  well  thought  of,  earning  the  name 
of  Al  Amin,  the  "Trusty,"  by  some  service  faithfully 
rendered. 

At  about  the  age  of  twenty-five  a  most  important  event 
happened.  A  distant  relative  of  his,  the  wealthy  widow 
Khadijah,  was  looking  for  some  person  to  take  charge  of 
her  business  affairs  on  one  of  the  great  caravan  journeys 
on  which  she  herself  could  not  go.  Her  attention  was  di- 
rected to  her  kinsman  Mohammed  and  the  arrangement  was 
made.  He  not  only  performed  the  service  to  her  great 


278          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

satisfaction  but  was  so  pleasing  in  person  and  manner  that 
she  offered  him  her  hand.  He  accepted  and  they  were 
married,  Mohammed  a  young  man  of  twenty-five  and  she 
his  senior  by  fifteen  years.  Yet  with  all  this  difference  in 
age  these  two  lived  happily  together  until  her  death  twenty- 
five  years  after.  He  never  forgot  her  and  always  remem- 
bered her  with  gratitude  and  respect  to  the  end  of  his  life. 
She  must  have  been  a  remarkable  woman.  During  the  long 
period  of  their  married  life  Mohammed  did  not  take  an- 
other wife.  Several  children  were  born  of  the  union,  the 
best  known  of  whom,  Fatima,  became  the  wife  of  AH,  one 
of  the  earliest  of  Mohammed's  followers  and  famous  in 
the  early  history  of  Islam. 

Mohammed's  marriage  to  Khadijah  changed  the  whole 
course  of  his  life.  He  had  been  a  poor  young  man,  but  now, 
married  to  a  wealthy  woman,  he  had  leisure.  Naturally  of 
a  pensive  disposition,  he  could  give  full  rein  to  his  inclina- 
tion with  no  anxiety  concerning  his  daily  bread.  What 
transpired  during  the  next  fifteen  years  we  have  little 
means  of  knowing.  He  must  have  brooded  long  and 
earnestly  over  the  moral  tragedy  of  the  universe  and  the 
issues  of  human  life.  Other  men  in  Arabia  at  this  time  had 
become  dissatisfied  with  the  old  paganism.  We  have  some 
knowledge  of  these  seekers  after  truth,  Hanifs,  as  they  were 
called.  They  were  seeking  to  find  a  pure  religion  and  had 
a  strong  drawing  toward  monotheism.  Eventually  these 
men  became  either  Christian  or  Mohammedan.  But  what 
influence  they  exercised  on  Mohammed  must  have  been 
slight.  There  is  no  indication  that  he  ever  had  any  leaning 
toward  Christianity,  although  he  had  a  certain  knowledge 
of  the  stories  and  characters  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments. The  Christianity  with  which  he  might  have  come 
into  contact  was  so  covered  over  with  formalism  and  so  lack- 
ing in  vitality  that  there  was  little  chance  of  his  being  drawn 
in  that  direction.  He  must  work  things  out  for  himself  in 
his  own  way. 


MOHAMMEDANISM  279 

In  the  year  A.  D.  610,  while  Mohammed  with  his  family 
was  sojourning  on  Mount  Hira,  near  Mecca,  during  the 
most  trying  season  of  the  year,  he  had  an  experience  which 
made  him  into  a  different  man.  He  thought  he  heard  a  heav- 
enly voice  commanding  him  to  convey  a  message.  The 
word  was  probably  what  we  now  have  in  the  96th  Sura  or 
Chapter  of  the  Koran. 

"Recite  thou,  in  the  name  of  thy  Lord  who  created; — 
Created  man  from  Clots  of  Blood : — 
Recite  thou!     For  thy  Lord  is  the  most  Beneficent, 
Who  hath  taught  the  use  of  the  pen ; — 
Hath  taught  man  that  which  he  knoweth  not." 

— (Rodwell's  Translation.) 

Doubtless  the  Meccans  had  recently  learned  how  to  read 
and  write,  and  it  was  considered  an  evidence  of  divine 
favor.  God  was  almighty ;  he  had  created  man  from  "clots 
of  blood,"  which  was  their  way  of  saying  that  God  had 
created  man  out  of  a  very  insignificant  thing.  The  climax 
of  the  revelation  was  that  Mohammed  was  to  proclaim  a 
message — "Recite  thou."  The  participle  of  this  verb  is 
Koran,  "that  which  is  recited,"  and  appropriately  becomes 
the  name  of  the  sacred  book  of  the  religion.  It  is  literally 
the  collection  of  the  inspired  utterances  of  the  Prophet 
which  he  was  to  "recite"  to  the  people. 

Mohammed  was  deeply  agitated  by  his  experience.  He 
was  not  sure  of  himself  and  was  in  doubt  about  the  reality 
of  the  call.  He  waited  for  another  revelation  to  confirm  the 
trustworthiness  of  the  first,  but  it  did  not  come.  Khadijah 
comforted  him  with  the  assurance  that  God  had  really 
spoken  to  him  and  would  do  so  again  if  only  he  would  have 
patience.  But  still  there  was  no  voice,  and  he  was  driven 
almost  to  desperation.  He  attempted  to  make  away  with  his 
life  by  throwing  himself  to  sure  death  over  one  of  the 
precipices  which  abounded  on  Mount  Hira,  but  his  good 
angel  Khadijah  interposed  and  kept  him  from  carrying  out 
his  purpose.  At  last  after  two  years  (this  is  only  one  of  the 


280          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

estimates  of  the  length  of  the  period  of  waiting)  another 
revelation  came.    It  is  given  in  the  74th  Sura  of  the  Koran. 

"O  thou,  enwrapped  in  thy  mantle  I 
Arise  and  warn ! 
Thy  Lord — magnify  Him  I 
Thy  Raiment — purify  it! 
The  abomination — flee  it! 
And   bestow   not    favors    that    thou   mayest    receive   again   with 

increase ; 

And  for  thy  Lord  wait  thou  patiently. 
For  when  there  shall  be  a  trump  on  the  trumpet, 
That  shall  be  a  distressful  day, 
A  day,  to  the  Infidels,  devoid  of  ease." 

—(Rod well's  Translation.) 

From  this  time  to  the  end  of  his  life  Mohammed  never 
doubted  that  he  was  in  immediate  contact  with  God.  The 
revelations  were  forthcoming  whenever  circumstances  called 
for  an  authoritative  word.  He  now  had  been  told  to  "arise 
and  warn,"  to  preach  the  message  of  God  whether  men  were 
pleased  with  it  or  not,  to  herald  the  coming  of  the  Day  of 
Judgment,  when  unbelievers  would  find  themselves  in  dire 
distress. 

But  why  that  strange  phrase,  "O  thou,  enwrapped  in  thy 
mantle"?  There  is  much  obscurity  relative  to  the  physical 
accompaniments  of  the  revelations.  They  came  to  him  in 
various  forms  and  under  different  conditions.  Here  it 
seems  to  have  been  while  he  was  closely  blanketed.  Was  it 
during  a  seizure,  say  of  epilepsy,  or  a  kindred  malady? 
There  are  many  who  find  evidence  that  Mohammed  was 
subject  to  such  attacks,  and  that  this  accounts  for  many 
things  which  otherwise  would  have  no  explanation.  They 
think  of  Mohammed  as  a  "pathological  case,"8  that  he  was 
not  quite  normal  physically  and  mentally,  and  that  the  enig- 
ma of  his  character  and  personality  is  to  be  solved  only  on 
this  supposition.  The  problem,  however,  is  not  yet  solved. 

*D.  B.  Macdonald,  Aspects  of  Islam,  p.  60.     (Macmillan,  New 
York,  1911.) 


MOHAMMEDANISM  281 

If  the  second  revelation  came  in  the  year  612  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  falls  into  two  periods  of  ten  years  each, 
the  first  of  which  was  spent  in  Mecca,  the  latter  in  Medina. 
Mohammed  immediately  began  to  preach  to  his  friends  in 
Mecca.  The  burden  of  his  message  was  that  there  was  but 
one  God,  Allah,  that  he  would  not  tolerate  the  worship  of 
any  other  gods  ("adding  partners  to  God,"  was  the  phrase 
used),  that  idolatry  was  an  abomination,  and  that  a  Day  of 
Judgment  was  coming,  when  all  those  who  refused  to  listen 
would  be  hurled  into  the  raging  fire  of  Hell.  Not  many  lis- 
tened to  him.  Khadijah  became  his  first  convert.  She  was 
followed  by  a  few  others  of  the  best  people  in  Mecca.  There 
were  Abu  Bakr,  Ali,  and  finally  Omar,  all  of  whom  became 
Caliphs  or  "successors"  of  the  Prophet.  But  aside  from 
these  and  a  few  others  the  Meccans  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
his  warnings.  Only  a  small  group  of  slaves  and  lowly 
people  accepted  his  leadership,  and  these,  because  they  had 
no  standing  in  the  community,  were  made  the  butt  of  ridi- 
cule and  abuse.  It  was  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
left  the  country  and  found  a  refuge  in  the  Christian  king- 
dom of  Abyssinia  across  the  Red  Sea.  Once  they  came  back 
on  hearing  that  a  better  feeling  existed  between  the  Prophet 
and  the  citizens  of  Mecca,  but  it  was  so  shortlived  that  they 
hastened  back  to  their  exile.  How  long  they  remained 
there  we  do  not  know. 

The  better  feeling  which  has  been  alluded  to  was  occa- 
sioned by  a  temporary  willingness  on  the  part  of  Moham- 
med to  recognize  that  the  "daughters"  of  Allah,  believed  in 
from  of  old  by  the  Meccans,  might  be  considered  as  "inter- 
cessors" between  men  and  Allah.  The  Meccans  thought 
they  had  gained  a  point  and  were  willing  now  to  listen  to 
the  preaching  of  their  fellow-townsman.  He  repented,  how- 
ever, of  his  weakness  in  a  short  time  and  withdrew  the  con- 
cession entirely.  This  made  the  Meccans  all  the  more  bitter 
and  the  breach  between  them  widened.  It  came  to  such  a 
pass  that  a  ban  was  proclaimed  against  Mohammed  and  his 


282          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

people.  They  were  ostracized  and  lived  precariously  and 
more  or  less  alone.  This  period  lasted,  it  may  be,  for  two 
years.  The  climax  was  reached  for  Mohammed  in  the  year 
620  by  the  death  of  his  faithful  companion  Khadijah  and 
of  his  protector  Abu  Talib.  His  uncle  had  never  embraced 
Islam,  but  stood  by  his  protege  until  the  end.  No  one  could 
lay  hands  on  Mohammed  while  Abu  Talib  lived.  So  it  was 
a  serious  matter  when  Mohammed  lost  the  protection  of  the 
arm  of  his  powerful  uncle.  But  even  more  serious  was 
the  loss  of  his  wife.  She  had  been  his  balance-wheel  for 
many  years.  Her  wisdom  and  judgment,  coupled  with  her 
devotion,  undoubtedly  had  saved  many  a  difficult  situation. 
Now  she  was  gone  and  Mohammed  was  never  quite  the 
same  again. 

The  question  of  the  sincerity  of  the  Prophet  of  Islam  must 
be  faced  here.  The  evidence  up  to  this  point  does  not 
justify  an  adverse  judgment.  He  preached  his  doctrine 
unhesitatingly  despite  the  opposition  of  the  Meccans,  whom 
he  was  trying  to  win.  Political  expediency  would  have 
dictated  a  different  course.  The  compromise  with  the  Mec- 
cans was  a  momentary  weakness.  His  deliberate  judgment 
is  to  be  seen  in  his  return  to  his  former  position,  from  which 
he  never  deviated  afterwards.  He  chose  the  unpopular 
way  whether  it  brought  him  success  or  not.  But  from  the 
time  we  have  now  reached  on  to  the  end  of  his  life  the  Mo- 
hammed with  whom  we  deal  is  a  different  man. 

The  Prophet  now  realized  that  Mecca  offered  him  no 
field ;  he  must  go  elsewhere  if  he  were  to  secure  the  favor- 
able hearing  he  desired.  He  began  to  look  around.  He  went 
to  Taif,  not  many  miles  away,  to  try  out  his  message,  but 
was  stoned  out  of  the  city.  But  about  this  time  he  discov- 
ered that  two  tribes  in  Medina  which  had  for  many  years 
been  in  a  jealous  contest  for  supremacy  were  now  anxious 
to  compose  their  differences  under  a  common  leader.  This 
was  a  splendid  opportunity  and  Mohammed  seized  it. 
Medina  was  the  city  from  which  his  mother  had  come  and 


MOHAMMEDANISM  283 

he  was  not  unfamiliar  with  its  problems.  It  took  some  time 
to  make  such  arrangements  as  would  be  acceptable  to  all 
parties,  so  it  was  not  until  the  year  622  that  the  transfer  was 
made.  In  the  middle  of  that  year,  after  his  followers  had 
slipped  away  in  little  groups,  the  Prophet  and  Abu  Bakr 
left  Mecca  secretly  and  made  their  way  by  a  round-about 
route  to  Medina,  which  is  just  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
north  of  Mecca.  This  Flight,  or  He'gira,  marks  the  year 
i  A.  H.  (Anno  Hegirae)  in  Mohammedan  chronology.  Mo- 
hammed settled  down  and  made  Medina  his  home  until  he 
died  just  ten  years  after  in  A.  D.  632.  r  While  in  Mecca  Mo- 
hammed had  been  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  a  warner  of 
the  wrath  to  come.  He  stood  as  a  Prophet  of  God  much 
as  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  whose  successor  he  felt 
himself  to  be.  Now  it  is  different.  He  is  a  civil  ruler,  a 
potentate,  with  administrative  problems  on  his  hands  and 
with  his  position  to  sustain  against  all  comers.  He  became 
perforce  a  soldier,  making  war  and  resisting  attack — a  very 
different  role  all  around  from  that  in  Mecca.  And  the  dif- 
ference within  is  as  great  as  that  of  the  outward  circum- 
stances. 

For  ten  years  Mohammed  led  a  strenuous  life  which  it  is 
impossible  here  to  follow  in  detail.  He  began  as  the  ruler  of 
Medina  with  the  very  doubtful  allegiance  of  very  few  tribes- 
men; he  ended  his  career  as  the  recognized  ruler  of  all 
Arabia.  Summary  commands  had  even  been  sent  out  to  sur- 
rounding nations  warning  them  against  resisting  the  claims 
of  the  Prophet.  Mecca  had  been  captured  with  no  blood- 
shed, the  people  opening  the  gates  of  the  city  and  receiving 
their  old  townsman  with  open  arms.  The  sweep  was  com- 
plete. It  had  not  been  accomplished  without  opposition  and 
bloody  contests.  Mohammed  gave  himself  to  practices — 
breaking  the  sacred  months  of  truce,  assassination  of  per- 
sonal enemies,  raiding  the  caravans  of  the  Meccans — prac- 
tices which  may  have  been  necessary  to  win  by  force  the 
mastery  of  Arabia,  but  which  are  hard  to  defend  when  they 


284  THE  RELIGIONS  OF  MANKIND 

are  the  deeds  of  one  who  is  a  preacher  of  righteousness  and 
who  claims  to  be  voicing  the  inner  counsels  of  the  God  of  all 
mankind.  The  battle  was  not  always  in  favor  of  Moham- 
med, but  steadily  and  persistently  he  followed  his  course, 
whether  circumstances  were  for  him  or  against  him  and 
by  fair  means  or  foul,  until  he  had  attained  his  ambition. 
But  with  Arabia  at  his  feet  he  looked  out  on  new  worlds  to 
conquer,  and  the  great  campaigns  which  were  carried  on 
after  his  death  were  probably  born  in  the  mind  of  Moham- 
med himself.  His  ambition  had  grown  until  it  would  brook 
no  restraint. 

When  the  Prophet  went  to  Medina  three  tribes  of  Jews 
occupied  their  sections  of  the  area  which  made  up  the  larger 
community.  They  thought  Mohammed  might  accept  their 
faith  because  he  had  begun  to  claim  that  he  was  only  restor- 
ing the  true  religion  of  Abraham.  Mohammed  on  his  side 
thought  that  the  Jews  would  accept  him  as  one  of  the 
prophets  and  receive  his  message  as  a  divine  revelation. 
Both  were  soon  brought  to  disappointment.  For  one  cause 
or  another  Mohammed  took  aggressive  action  against  the 
Jews.  Their  tragic  fate  is  one  of  the  darkest  blots  on  the 
reputation  of  the  Prophet,  already  sadly  stained.  Two  of  the 
tribes  were  cruelly  banished  and  the  third  suffered  a  more 
terrible  fate.  Under  circumstances  which  do  little  to  miti- 
gate the  horror  the  women  and  children  were  sold  into 
slavery  and  the  men — six  or  eight  hundred  of  them — were 
butchered  in  cold  blood,  their  bodies  in  little  groups  of 
threes  and  fours  dropping  into  an  enormous  ditch  which 
had  been  prepared  for  their  bloody  reception.  The  Prophet 
of  God  gave  his  sanction  to  this  unbelievable  cruelty  with  no 
compunctions  and  with  no  diminution  of  his  claim  to  be  the 
obedient  servant  of  the  great  God  of  justice  and  mercy! 

Whatever  may  have  been  in  his  mind  before  the  death  of 
Khadijah  Mohammed  took  no  second  wife  while  she  lived. 
But  when  she  died  he  married  soon  again  and  continued  to 
increase  his  harem  until  he  had  twelve  or  thirteen  wives. 


MOHAMMEDANISM  285 

Whatever  we  may  think  of  polygamy,  such  conduct  on  the 
part  of  the  Prophet  did  not  affect  his  followers.  They 
simply  took  it  for  granted  as  an  accepted  institution.  But 
the  conditions  under  which  he  took  several  of  his  wives 
were  such  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  us  to  doubt  that 
Mohammed  was  displaying  every  sign  of  being  a  sensualist. 
In  one  case,  when  he  married  the  wife  of  his  adopted  son, 
Zeid,  who  divorced  her  that  she  might  become  the  wife  of 
the  Prophet,  even  his  followers  were  scandalized,  and  only 
the  prompt  arrival  of  a  revelation  from  Allah  saved  his 
face  and  made  it  right  for  him  to  do  as  he  had  done.  Only 
by  such  a  terrible  expedient  did  he  cover  the  all  too  con- 
trolling passion  which  lay  so  near  the  surface  of  his  life. 
His  insane  jealousy,  fear  that  others  might  be  enamoured 
of  his  wives,  was  the  real  motive  which  led  to  the  seclusion 
of  women  behind  the  veil.  This  one  act  has  been  respon- 
sible for  as  much  of  the  backwardness  and  degradation  of 
life  in  the  East  as  any  other  known  influence.  When  to 
polygamy  are  added  facile  divorce  and  the  sanction  of 
slavery  the  charge  against  the  system  is  about  complete. 
He  was,  it  is  true,  a  child  of  his  time,  but  instead  of  leaving 
woman  better  off  he  is  responsible  for  binding  her  more 
securely  and  for  making  the  problem  of  her  emancipation 
and  enlightenment  infinitely  more  difficult  than  it  might  have 
been  had  he  never  lived. 

How  explain  the  change?  A  seemingly  sincere  preacher 
of  righteousness  until  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life,  then  a 
period  which  Professor  Macdonald  speaks  of  as  "the  last 
terrible  ten  years"4 — what  can  be  the  explanation?  Only 
this,  that  the  loss  of  his  g"bod  wife  Khadijah  and  the  acces- 
sion of  power  as  a  ruler  in  Medina  transformed  him  com- 
pletely, and  the  side  of  his  nature  which  had  been  held  in 
control  gained  the  ascendency  and  ruined  him.  He  may  have 
been  more  or  less  abnormal;  undoubtedly  his  inner  nature 

4  Aspects  of  Islam,  p.  74. 


286          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

had  not  been  fortified  by  careful  discipline  during  his  out- 
wardly correct  years.  Still  it  remains  true  that  the  loss  of  his 
moral  stay  in  his  wife  and  the  rapid  increase  of  power 
touched  the  two  weak  spots  in  Mohammed's  character,  and 
he  was  undone.  Yet  with  all  that  may  be  said  on  this  side, 
the  Prophet  appeared  to  his  followers  and  must,  as  we  see 
him  through  their  eyes,  likewise  appear  to  us  as  a  reformer. 
He  found  the  Arabs  practicing  infanticide — of  girl  babies — 
and  he  put  an  end  to  this  effectively  and  for  all  time;  he 
found  the  Arabs  torn  and  weakened  by  the  blood-feud,  and 
he  welded  them  into  a  single  brotherhood;  he  found  them 
worshiping  many  gods,  and  when  he  died  they  were  acclaim- 
ing Allah  as  the  one  God  Almighty.  He  was  a  reformer,  but 
failed  at  the  crucial  point  of  personal  character.  The  pathos 
is  that  his  greatness  should  have  blinded  the  eyes  of  his 
followers  so  that  they  failed  to  realize  that  he  had  forfeited 
the  right  to  their  allegiance  by  a  surrender  of  the  principles 
of  truth  and  honor  and  justice  and  mercy  for  which  he  had 
once  stood. 

FAITH  AND  PRACTICE 

When  Mohammed  died  in  632  the  Koran  had  not  been 
compiled.  It  could  be  recited  by  those  who  had  been  his 
close  companions,  but  it  had  not  been  reduced  entirely  to 
writing.  When  quite  a  number  of  the  "Companions"  were 
killed  in  a  desperate  battle  about  a  year  after  the  Prophet's 
death  it  became  evident  that  something  must  be  done,  or  the 
inspired  words  would  soon  be  lost.  One  compilation  was 
made  by  Zaid,  Mohammed's  former  amanuensis,  and,  when 
disputes  arose  over  various  readings,  a  final  recension  was 
made  by  Zaid  and  several  members  of  Mohammed's  own 
tribe,  and  this  has  been  the  standard  version  down  to  the 
present  day.  The  finished  work,  written  in  Arabic,  the 
"Language  of  the  Angels,"  is  about  as  long  as  the  New  Tes- 
tament. It  consists  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  chapters, 
or  suras,  of  very  unequal  length.  They  are  arranged  in 


MOHAMMEDANISM  287 

general  with  the  long  suras  first  and  the  short  suras  last, 
but  this  order  is  almost  the  exact  reverse  of  the  correct 
chronological  order.  The  lack  of  a  sufficient  number  of 
names  and  dates  by  which  the  various  sections  can  be  identi- 
fied and  correctly  placed  in  the  life  of  the  Prophet  renders 
the  Koran  a  most  difficult  book  to  use  historically.  Yet  it  is 
our  chief  source  on  Mohammed.  It  is  his  book ;  it  undoubt- 
edly came  from  him  and  is  a  correct  transcript  of  his  mind 
and  the  development  of  his  thought.  The  frequent  repe- 
tition of  the  word  "say"  indicates  that  in  Mohammed's 
mind  God  is  the  speaker  throughout  and  dictates  to  the 
Prophet  what  he  is  to  "say"  to  the  people.  The  Moham- 
medan theory  of  the  Koran  is  the  most  extreme  illustration 
in  any  literature  of  plenary  verbal  inspiration.  /The  ac- 
cepted doctrine  in  the  Mohammedan  world  is  that  the  Koran 
is  the  uncreated  word  of  God,  which  has  always  existed  at  ; 
the  right  hand  of  Allah  and  which  was  delivered  to  Gabriel,  j 
who  in  turn  was  to  convey  it  piecemeal  to  the  Prophet  as  j 
each  foreordained  need  should  arise.  |  There  are  many  lofty 
passages  filled  with  poetic  fire  anoTthe  burning  passion  of 
righteousness,  but  when  the  "awful  machinery  of  divine 
inspiration"  is  used  to  cover  his  own  sensuality  and  to 
compose  petty  difficulties  in  his  harem  the  sincerity  of  Mo- 
hammed is  strained  to  the  breaking  point  and  the  Koran 
becomes  a  very  human  document,  of  great  interest  withal 
because  it  opens  the  way  into  the  mind  and  heart  of  one  of 
the  most  compelling  of  men. 

The  Koran  is  the  chief  foundation  of  Islam,  the  author- 
ity par  excellence  on  doctrine  and  practice.  But  much  that 
Mohammedans  believe  and  do  is  taken  from  the  Traditions, 
the  Sunna,  as  they  are  called.  "The  term  signifies  the  cus- 
tom, habit,  usage  of  the  Prophet."5  They  cover  all  phases 
of  life  and  are  believed  in  by  all  the  Faithful.  They  are  lit- 
erally "traditions,"  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth  in  the 

*F.  A.  Klein,  The  Religion  of  Islam,  p.  24.  (Triibner,  London, 
1906.) 


288  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

early  day  until  they  were  put  down  in  writing.  They  differ 
in  authority,  depending  on  the  trustworthiness  of  the  per- 
sons from  whom  they  have  been  derived.  Collections  of  the 
Traditions  have  been  made,  which  are  received  as  standard 
by  the  people.  In  recent  years  the  tendency  among  Euro- 
pean scholars  has  been  to  discredit  a  large  number  of  the 
received  traditions,  some  going  to  such  extremes  that  little 
confidence  can  be  placed  in  any  fact  concerning  Mohammed 
and  his  life  unless  it  can  be  verified  from  other  sources. 
This  is  undoubtedly  going  too  far,  but  enough  has  been  done 
to  make  the  student  wary  of  over-confidence  in  making 
many  statements  he  might  have  felt  sure  of  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago.  These  two  sources  are  called  the  Roots  of 
Islam — there  are  also  two  Branches. 

Should  the  followers  of  Mohammed  agree  on  any  point 
which  is  not  specifically  covered  either  in  the  Koran  or  the 
Traditions  that  "Agreement,"  or  Ijma,  is  accepted  as  au- 
thoritative. Now  of  course  practically  it  is  the  agreement  of 
the  doctors  of  the  law,  the  recognized  leaders  of  Moham- 
medan opinion,  but  with  Islam  divided  as  it  is  to-day  even 
this  is  not  easy  to  achieve  so  there  shall  be  any  real  con- 
sensus of  view.  Space  is  taken  to  mention  it  here  because 
any  advance  or  change  in  thought  and  practice  the  religion 
may  make  in  the  future  depends  upon  this  possibility.  The 
statement  is  frequently  made  that  a  changed  Islam  is  no 
longer  Islam,  but  Islam  has  changed  in  the  past,  and  un- 
doubtedly, with  the  pressure  of  a  new  world  situation,  a  new 
Islam  will  come  into  being.  There  are  scarcely  any  limits 
to  the  possibility  of  transformation  when  a  religion,  brought 
to  bay,  attempts  to  fit  itself  to  new  conditions.  Whether  the 
changes  are  fundamental  or  only  on  the  surface  they  will 
be  made,  in  spite  of  conservatives  who  are  horrified  at  the 
departure  from  the  old  landmarks.  The  last  and  least  sig- 
nificant of  the  sources  of  Islam,  one  of  the  Branches,  is 
Qias,  or  reasoning  by  analogy.  The  learned  doctors  may 
deal  with  new  problems  which  arise  by  comparing  them  with 


MOHAMMEDANISM  289 

similar  cases  already  settled.  The  decision  must  be  based 
on  the  Koran,  the  Sunna,  and  the  Ijma,  to  be  valid.  In  these 
ways  do  the  Mohammedans  seek  to  meet  new  situations  as 
they  rise  and  still  be  true  to  the  original  faith  of  Mo- 
hammed. 

The  religion  of  Islam  is  divided  into  two  main  divisions, 
practical  duties  and  doctrines  to  be  believed.  The  duties  are 
five  in  number,  called  the  Five  Pillars  of  the  Faith.  There 
are  other  lesser  duties,  but  these  stand  out  as  the  cardinal 
points  of  practice,  necessary  to  one  who  claims  to  be  a 
follower  of  the  Prophet.  The  first  is  the  repetition  of  the 
creed,  "There  is  no  God  but  Allah  and  Mohammed  is  the 
Prophet  of  Allah."  The  simplest  of  all  creeds,  to  be  learned 
quickly  and  never  to  be  forgotten,  its  hold  on  the  Moslem 
world  has  been  tremendous.  It  is  repeated  at  sundry  and 
all  times  until  it  eats  its  way  into  the  inner  core  of  a  man's 
being,  almost  never  to  be  eradicated.  Gibbon  speaks  of  it  as 
"an  eternal  truth  and  a  necessary  fiction."  The  idea  of  one 
God  is  the  eternal  truth,  but  Islam  needs  more;  the  apos- 
tleship  of  Mohammed  is  essential  if  Islam  is  to  be  Islam  at 
all.  The  second  duty  is  the  observance  of  the  five  stated 
daily  prayers.  These  prayers  must  be  preceded  by  cere- 
monial lustrations,  with  water  if  it  is  to  be  had,  otherwise 
with  clean  desert  sand.  The  prayers  are  to  be  said  either 
in  public  or  private  and  always  in  the  direction  of  the  sacred 
Kaaba  in  Mecca.  The  times  for  these  devotional  periods 
are  highly  important — just  before  sunrise,  at  high  noon,  in 
the  later  afternoon  (at  the  "yellowing"  of  the  sun,  as  it  is 
known  in  the  desert),  just  after  sunset,  and  lastly  when 
night  shuts  in.  At  these  times  the  Muezzin,  or  crier,  ascends 
the  minaret  and  summons  the  faithful  to  prayer.  The  hu- 
man voice  is  the  church-bell  in  Moslem  lands.  There  are 
other  prayers,  but  these  are  the  regularly  designated  seasons 
when  without  fail  all  must  turn  to  Mecca  and  go  through 
the  carefully  regulated  acts  which  accompany  the  repetition 
of  the  well-known  formulas.  The  hushed  stillness  of  rev- 


290          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

erence  is  upon  a  Mohammedan  as  he  bows  before  Allah  and 
makes  his  requests  known  to  him. 

The  third  Pillar  is  the  thirty  days'  Fast  of  Ramadan. 
During  this  sacred  month  the  faithful  are  to  abstain  from 
food,  drink,  and  bodily  pleasure  from  sunrise  to  sunset. 
It  is  carried  so  far  that  one  is  supposed  not  to  swallow  his 
own  saliva.  The  fast  is  not  a  severe  hardship  when  the 
month  comes  in  the  cool  season,  but  when  it  falls  in  the 
torrid  season  it  becomes  a  real  burden.  Mohammed,  prob- 
ably out  of  sheer  ignorance,  would  have  nothing  of  inter- 
calated months,  with  the  result  that  the  months  move  slowly 
through  the  seasons  and  do  not  remain  fixed.  The  Ramadan 
fast  is  strictly  observed,  but  like  so  much  in  Islam  the  ob- 
servance is  purely  formal.  Those  who  fast  all  day  are 
likely  to  feast  all  night — it  makes  no  difference  so  long  as 
the  letter  of  the  law  is  kept.  The  fourth  duty  is  that  of 
Almsgiving,  which  is  expected  of  every  Moslem.  In  an 
Islamic  country  under  Moslem  officials  the  alms  are  col- 
lected like  a  tax,  but  there  are  few  countries  under  Moslem 
rule  to-day,  and  so  it  becomes  a  matter  on  each  one's  con- 
science. Let  us  give  the  Mohammedans  credit  for  taking 
care  of  their  poor.  The  last  of  the  duties  or  Pillars  is  the 
Pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  Moslem  once 
in  his  life  to  undertake  the  journey.  If  a  man  cannot  go 
himself,  it  is  meritorious  to  send  some  one  and  thus  go  by 
proxy.  The  Pilgrimage  must  be  made  at  the  appointed  sea- 
son. The  details  of  the  ceremonies  connected  with  it  are 
quite  elaborate.  They  include  the  wearing  of  the  Ihram, 
or  two  seamless  wrappers,  which  must  be  put  on  as  one 
comes  to  the  borders  of  the  sacred  region;  standing  on 
Mount  Arafat,  near  Mecca ;  going  around  the  Kaaba  seven 
times,  during  which  each  must  kiss  or  touch  the  holy  stone, 
which  is  fixed  in  one  corner  of  the  building;  tasting  the 
waters  of  the  well  Zemzem;  and  doing  other  strange  and 
unique  things,  all  of  which  have  to  them  a  well-known 
significance. 


MOHAMMEDANISM  291 

Another  recognized  duty,  not  included  in  the  Pillars,  is 
that  of  Jihad,  or  the  Holy  War,  which  Moslem  powers  wage 
against  unbelievers.  The  last  attempt  to  declare  Jihad  was 
in  the  fall  of  1914,  when  the  Sheik-ul-Islam,  the  spiritual 
head  of  Islam  in  Turkey,  obeying  the  orders  of  the  Sultan, 
called  upon  all  Moslems  everywhere  to  turn  against  the 
enemies  of  Turkey  and  fight  the  battles  of  the  faith.  It  was 
a  Holy  War  so  evidently  "Made  in  Germany,"  as  Professor 
Snouck  Hurgronje  put  it,  that  its  call  was  only  heeded  as 
far  as  Germany's  influence  extended  and  fell  on  deaf  ears 
in  most  of  the  Moslem  world,  which  remained  true  to  the 
Allies.  How  the  Holy  War  will  be  interpreted  in  the  future 
with  Islam  divided  against  itself  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting political  questions  before  statesmen  to-day,  and  is  a 
serious  problem  in  Islam  itself. 

The  essential  doctrines  of  Mohammedanism  are  as  defi- 
nitely stated  as  the  duties.  They  are  again  five  in  number, 
the  first  being  that  of  God,  which  we  shall  leave  to  the  last. 
The  next  is  that  of  angels,  the  servants  of  God,  whose  one 
desire  is  to  love  and  know  God.  They  are  free  from  all 
sin,  and  act  as  intercessors  for  men  before  God.  Besides 
the  angels  are  the  jinn,  who  also  must  be  believed  in.  They 
are  the  genii  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  some  of  whom  are 
believers  and  some  infidels.  They  were  inherited,  like  so 
many  other  things  by  Mohammed,  from  the  superstitions  of 
pre-Islamic  paganism.  The  doctrine  of  the  Books  stands 
next.  The  chief  sacred  books  are  the  Koran,  the  Pentateuch, 
the  Zabur,  or  Psalms  of  David,  and  the  Injil,  or  Gospel  of 
Jesus.  The  orthodox  believe  that  all  previous  books  are 
abrogated  by  the  Koran,  thus  practically  rejecting  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  although  every  reference  to  the  Bible 
in  the  Koran  is  favorable  to  a  belief  in  its  inspiration  and 
authority.  The  fourth  doctrine  is  that  of  the  Prophets. 
Many  are  mentioned,  but  the  leading  names  are  Adam, 
Noah,  Abraham,  Moses,  Jesus,  and  Mohammed.  It  is  held 
that  all  the  others  were  sent  to  their  own  people  while  Mo- 


292          THfe   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

hammed  was  sent  to  all  peoples.  Jesus,  as  is  seen,  is  rec- 
ognized as  a  prophet,  the  only  sinless  one  among  them, 
according  to  the  Koran  and  the  traditions.  His  death  on  the 
cross  is  denied  as  beneath  the  dignity  of  one  of  God's  chosen 
ones.  But  the  one  overwhelming  fact  enunciated  by  this 
doctrine  is  that  Mohammed  is  the  Prophet  superseding  all 
others.  They  led  up  to  and  pointed  toward  him,  and  only 
by  accepting  his  claims  can  one  be  true  to  the  essential 
message  of  all  the  others.  Then  follows  the  doctrine  of 
the  Resurrection  and  the  Last  Day.  There  will  be  the 
sounding  of  the  Trumpets,  the  Descent  of  the  Books,  the 
weighing  in  the  Balances,  and  the  crossing  of  the  Narrow 
Bridge,  from  which  the  wicked  fall  off  into  the  fiery  pit 
below.  All  mankind,  good  and  bad,  will  be  raised  and  will 
answer  for  their  deeds.  All  Moslems  will  in  the  end  be 
saved  no  matter  what  their  record  may  have  been.  The 
last  state  is  in  heaven  or  hell,  both  of  which  are  pictured 
with  vivid  imagery,  calculated  to  appeal  to  the  imagination 
of  the  dweller  in  the  desert. 

The  doctrine  of  God  is  so  important  that  it  occupies  nine 
tenths  of  the  space  in  Mohammedan  works  on  theology. 
There  is  but  one  God,  Allah,  and  he  is  the  omnipotent  Cre- 
ator and  Ruler  of  the  universe.  He  has  many  qualities 
which  the  Moslem  expresses  by  repeating  the  ninety-nine 
most  beautiful  names  of  God.  Of  these  attributes,  or  qual- 
ities, what  are  called  the  essential  attributes  are  life,  knowl- 
edge (absolute  omniscience),  power,  and  will.  The  doctrine 
of  the  foreordination  of  good  and  evil  follows  logically  from 
the  emphasis  which  is  put  on  the  almightiness  of  Allah.  It 
has  had  an  interesting  history.  The  Prophet  was  no  theo- 
logian and  gave  expression  to  contradictory  views  in  the 
Koran,  but  as  the  suras  are  studied  in  chronological  order 
predestination  becomes  more  marked.  There  the  begin- 
nings are  found  of  the  fatalistic  pall  which  has  always  hung 
over  Islam,  cutting  the  nerve  of  moral  enthusiasm  and  ren- 
dering impossible  any  movement  toward  social  reform.  Was 


MOHAMMEDANISM  293 

it  not  all  pre-determined  by  the  Almighty  Allah  ?  Only  once 
was  the  doctrine  seriously  challenged.  For  thirty- four  years 
at  the  beginning  of  the  third  Islamic  century,  that  is,  about 
A.  D.  825,  a  party  flourished  in  Bagdad,  who  denied  divine 
predestination  and  asserted  free  will  in  man.  These  Free- 
thinkers in  Islam,  Mutazilites,  or  "Seceders,"  as  they  were 
called,  held  other  unorthodox  doctrines,  such  as  the  creation 
of  the  Koran,  and  had  great  power  until  they  were  over- 
come and  in  turn  suffered  the  persecution  they  had  inflicted 
on  the  more  orthodox.  They  were  finally  discomfited  in 
debate  and  were  unable  again  to  lift  up  their  heads  through 
the  victory  of  al-Ashari,  the  orthodox  champion,  who  had 
once  been  a  Mutazilite  himself.  He  was  a  master  of  dialectic 
and  brought  over  into  Islamic  theology  the  methods  of  the 
scholastic  philosophy.  He  gave  a  great  impetus  to  ortho- 
doxy, which  retains  its  almost  undisputed  hold  to-day,  and 
of  which  no  feature  is  emphasized  with  more  insistence  than 
the  doctrine  of  God's  unchangeable  decrees  pre-determining 
all  that  happens  in  the  world  of  nature  and  of  men. 

With  all  the  Koran  says  about  the  mercy  and  compassion 
of  Allah,  the  great,  overshadowing  attribute  is  power.  This 
was  Mohammed's  emphasis,  and  it  still  rules  the  Islamic 
world.  It  is  power  unlimited,  unrestrained  by  any  law  of 
holiness  or  love.  This  were  to  lessen  the  dignity  of  Allah 
and  bring  him  down  from  the  throne  of  his  unapproachable 
might.  It  makes  no  difference  to  the  Moslem  to  have  it 
suggested  that  it  might  be  an  inner  limitation,  growing  out 
of  the  very  nature  of  God,  which  is  essentially  holiness  and 
love.  It  would  be  a  limitation  nevertheless,  and  that  is 
enough  for  him  to  spurn  the  suggestion  as  a  temptation  of  the 
evil  one.  Allah  must  be  able  to  do  as  he  wills  with  no  let  nor 
hindrance.  In  this  way  Islam  has  played  fast  and  loose 
with  morality,  not  being  able  to  connect  the  fundamental  dis- 
tinction between  right  and  wrong  with  the  essential  nature 
of  God.  Sin,  then,  in  man  becomes  not  a  breach  of  a  moral 
law  founded  on  an  eternal  ethical  cleavage  which  goes  right 


294          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

to  the  heart  of  the  universe  itself,  but  a  mere  violation  of  an 
arbitrary  command  which  might  be  changed  according  to  the 
whim  or  caprice  of  Allah,  who  thus  becomes  a  typical  Orien- 
tal despot,  irresponsible  and  unrestrained  by  any  principle 
within  or  without. 

Another  doctrine  must  be  coupled  with  this  to  appreciate 
the  kind  of  God  Allah  is  in  relation  to  his  people.  It  is  the 
doctrine  of  "difference/*  which  asserts  the  absolute  separa- 
tion of  Allah  and  men.  God  is  not  a  Father ;  that  would  be 
to  make  him  like  men,  for  the  term  "father"  suggests  to 
Moslems  primarily  and  almost  entirely  physical  generation, 
which  they  hold  would  be  unworthy  of  God.  So  man  in  no 
sense  is  a  partaker  of  the  divine  nature ;  he  was  not  made  in 
the  image  of  God.  God  must  not  be  brought  down  to  so 
low  a  level  as  that.  Man  is  carnal  and  must  always  remain 
so.  Salvation  does  not  mean  the  development  of  the  divine 
nature  within  so  as  to  fit  man  for  spiritual  communion  with 
his  Father.  It  is  merely  such  an  obedience  to  the  rules  and 
regulations  which  have  been  laid  down  that  man  may  secure 
the  reward  in  heaven  which  Allah  has  promised.  And  the 
heaven  is  not  spiritual,  but  one  suited  to  the  physical  desires 
which  man  is  conscious  of  and  which  he  will  never  outgrow. 
It  is  a  luscious  garden  of  fruits  and  running  streams  with 
delightful  nooks  in  which  are  the  houris,  or  damsels,  which 
are  the  principal  reward  of  the  righteous.  Such  is  Islam  in 
its  naked  shame,  holding  men  down  to  the  purely  physical, 
and  failing  to  lift  their  eyes  to  a  world  of  spiritual  light  and 
beauty  where  we  shall  be  with  God  and  see  him  and  be 
like  him. 

But  there  were  and  are  Moslems  not  satisfied  with  such 
an  outlook.  Mysticism  has  also  found  a  home  in  Islam  as 
in  Christianity.  There  have  been  men  who  felt  that  God 
was  in  their  hearts  and  was  speaking  to  them,  who  desired 
communion  with  him  and  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
else.  The  greatest  of  these  was  al-Ghazzali,  who  died  A.  D. 
mi.  He  was  sure  that  there  was  that  in  man  which  could 


MOHAMMEDANISM  295 

come  into  contact  with  God.  His  experience  was  more  than 
could  be  explained  by  the  barren  formulas  of  the  scholastic 
theology.  Yet  he  was  not  unorthodox.  He  accepted  the 
apostleship  of  the  Prophet,  the  authority  of  the  Koran, 
and  the  Traditions,  and  used  the  methods  of  the  scholastic 
philosophy.  But  he  was  a  mystic,  seeing  the  inner  light  and 
experiencing  the  glow  of  the  quiet  presence  of  God  in  his 
inmost  being.  He  could  not  deny  this  reality,  and  his  great 
work  was  "to  reduce  to  an  orthodox  possibility  those  mysti- 
cal conceptions,  and  to  find  a  resting  place  for  that  possi- 
bility in  the  church  of  Islam."'  Others  went  far  beyond 
al-Ghazzali  and  were  not  so  wise  as  he.  They  did  not  stop 
until  they  had  landed  in  sheer  pantheism,  virtually  denying 
all  the  specific  doctrines  of  their  faith  and  holding  that  all 
beliefs  and  outward  practices  were  meaningless  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  mystic  union  of  the  soul  and  the  great  All,  whom 
they  might  still  call  Allah,  but  whose  essential  character  they 
had  completely  denied.  The  mystical  experience  was  given 
another  vent,  however,  in  the  Darwish  orders,  which  are 
scattered  so  widely  over  the  Islamic  world.  The  meetings 
of  these  brotherhoods  seek  to  stimulate  the  emotional  expe- 
rience by  well-understood  exercises.  Though  they  may  be 
a  poor  substitute  for  the  communion  with  God  which  Chris- 
tians experience  in  Jesus  Christ,  they  give  abundant  testi- 
mony to  the  presence  in  the  heart  of  Moslems  of  a  longing 
after  God  which  only  his  presence  can  satisfy. 

ISLAM  IN  HISTORY 

The  rapid  expansion  of  Islam  is  one  of  the  marvels  of 
history.  When  Mohammed  died  in  632,  plans  of  conquest 
were  already  in  his  mind.  During  the  period  of  the  first 
four,  or  orthodox,  Caliphs  (632-661),  Persia,  Syria,  Pales- 
tine, and  Egypt  were  subjugated.  In  the  year  711  the  Mos- 
lem armies  entered  Spain,  having  already  crossed  the  entire 

'  D.  B.  Macdonald,  Aspects  of  Islam,  p.  194. 


296          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

breadth  of  North  Africa,  and  by  732  were  to  be  found  as 
far  north  as  Central  France.  Here  at  Tours  they  were  met 
by  King  Charles,  who  received  the  name  of  Martel,  or 
"Hammer,"  from  this  battle,  and  suffered  a  decisive  defeat, 
the  first  check  the  Moslem  has  met  in  his  victorious  prog- 
ress. The  battle  of  Tours  was  one  of  the  decisive  battles 
of  the  world.  The  fate  of  Europe  was  decided  that  day, 
whether  it  should  be  Moslem  or  Christian.  The  faith  also 
spread  into  Turkestan  and  even  entered  remote  China.  These 
conquests  took  place  during  the  ascendency  of  the  Arabs, 
before  they  gave  place  to  the  Turks  in  the  leadership  of 
Islam.  After  the  four  orthodox  Caliphs,  Abu  Bakr,  Omar, 
Othman,  and  Ali,  who  ruled  from  the  old  seat  of  authority  in 
Arabia,  the  center  was  shifted  to  Damascus,  where  the 
Omayyad  Caliphs  ruled  from  66 1  to  750.  Then  again  there 
was  a  transfer  and  for  a  brilliant  period  Bagdad  was  the 
center  of  the  Islamic  world.  Here  the  Abbasid  Caliphs  held 
sway  in  pomp  and  splendor  from  750  to  1258.  The  last  cen- 
turies saw  degeneracy  and  the  slow  but  sure  decline  of  pres- 
tige. The  authority  was  passing  over  to  the  Turks,  who  had 
come  in  from  Central  Asia  and  were  making  themselves  mas- 
ters of  the  situation  in  Asia  Minor. 

How  account  for  this  marvelous  expansion?  Canon  W. 
H.  T.  Gairdner  mentions7  a  number  of  factors  which  help 
in  arriving  at  a  conclusion.  Zeal  for  God  was  a  motive,  not 
unmixed  with  baser  elements,  which  welded  the  loosely  or- 
ganized Arab  tribesmen  into  a  compact  body  and  drove  them 
out  to  do  battle  against  the  enemies  of  Allah.  To  this  must 
be  added  zeal  for  plunder  and  slaves.  This  made  a  strong 
appeal  to  the  Arab.  He  was  to  be  the  soldier  of  Islam  sup- 
ported by  the  tribute  of  the  peoples  he  conquered.  Arabia 
thus  became  the  breeding  place  and  training  ground  for  army 
after  army  which  went  out  to  conquer  a  world.  The  ex- 
haustion might  have  come  sooner  than  it  did  had  it  not  been 

T  Rebuke  of  Islam,  chap.  iii.  (United  Council  for  Missionary  Edu- 
cation, London,  1920.) 


MOHAMMEDANISM  297 

for  the  importation  of  large  numbers  of  concubines  and 
women  slaves  which  were  increased  greatly  by  the  wars. 
The  countries  which  were  conquered  fell  by  the  sword,  but 
after  the  initial  bloodshed  there  was  usually  peace.  The 
enormous  numbers  converted  to  Islam  were  not  necessarily 
forced  into  Islam  at  the  edge  of  the  sword,  though  that  hap- 
pened at  times.  With  a  nation  the  alternative  was  Islam  or 
the  sword,  but  with  an  individual  after  the  new  religion  had 
been  installed  it  was  Islam  or  tribute.  They  might  remain 
Christians  on  condition  of  paying  tribute,  and  many  did 
this,  as  witness  the  Coptic  Church  in  Egypt,  the  Armenian, 
and  other  of  the  so-called  Oriental  Christian  churches  in  the 
Near  East.  When  they  turned  Moslem  it  was  usually  the 
pressure  of  the  whole  system.  Under  Islam,  even  if  they 
remained  Christian,  there  was  a  large  measure  of  justice 
and  less  persecution  than  was  frequently  the  case  when  in- 
tolerance marked  the  attitude  of  the  warring  sects  in  the 
decaying  Eastern  Roman  Empire.  It  was  a  positive  relief, 
for  example,  in  Egypt,  to  pass  from  Christian  rule  to  that 
of  Islam.  As  soon  as  the  Christians  paid  the  tribute  they 
were  under  Moslem  protection.  The  sexual  freedom  al- 
lowed under  Islam  was  a  strong  inducement  to  men  not 
strongly  under  the  influence  of  Christian  ideals.  The  Mos- 
lem soldiers  and  those  who  followed  the  armies  into  any 
country  were  free  to  intermarry  with  any  of  the  women  of 
the  land,  and  of  course  the  children  were  always  Moham- 
medans. Thus  Islam  won  its  victories,  both  as  a  political 
force  and  as  a  religion.  The  kind  of  Christianity  Islam  met 
could  expect  no  other  fate.  It  was  weak  and  corrupt  and 
divided  and  did  not  have  the  slightest  chance  against  so 
determined  and  convinced  an  adversary. 
*  During  the  last  two  centuries  of  the  Caliphate  in  Bagdad 
the  real  strength  of  Islam  as  a  political  power  was  Turkish. 
The  Turks  had  been  brought  to  Bagdad  as  the  bodyguard  of 
the  Caliphs,  with  little  thought  that  they  would  so  soon  as- 
sume the  rule.  First  the  Seljukian  Turks  (from  the  year 


298          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

1037)  and  then  the  Othmanli,  or  Ottoman  Turks  (from 
1299  to  the  present  time)  took  the  lead.  The  Arab,  seem- 
ingly having  had  his  day,  retired  into  the  background  and 
has  never  been  able  to  regain  the  position  he  once  held.  Dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  Seljuks  occurred  the  crusades,  when 
Christian  Europe  made  the  desperate  attempt  to  wrest  the 
holy  sepulcher  of  our  Lord  from  the  Moslem,  and,  after  tem- 
porary success,  was  hurled  back  by  the  followers  of  Moham- 
med. The  Turks  made  Asia  Minor  completely  Moslem, 
crossed  over  into  Europe  and  captured  province  after  prov- 
ince, until  finally  in  1453  Constantinople  fell  and  the  old 
Eastern  Empire  came  to  an  end.  The  tidal  wave  of  Moham- 
medan advance  was  not  stopped  until  late  in  the  seventeenth 
century  when  Vienna  was  besieged,  only  to  be  relieved  by  the 
Polish  King  John  Sobieski.  But  the  real  turn  of  the  tide 
did  not  take  place  until  the  Greek  War  of  Independence 
early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Since  then  the  retrograde 
movement  has  been  rapid,  so  that  at  the  opening  of  the 
great  war  in  1914  Turkey  in  Europe  consisted  only  of  the 
city  of  Constantinople  and  a  few  square  miles  of  adjacent 
territory. 

But  to  return  to  the  early  days  of  life  and  vigor,  Islam 
under  the  Turk  expanded  eastward  over  Afghanistan,  Balu- 
chistan, and  down  into  the  plains  of  India.  The  forays  into 
India  began  about  the  year  A.  D.  1000.  In  course  of  time 
Delhi  became  the  capital  of  a  Mohammedan  empire,  which 
under  the  Mogul  emperors  (1525-1707)  was  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  epochs  of  Indian  as  well  as  of  Islamic  history. 
During  these  years  the  faith  penetrated  more  deeply  into 
Central  Asia,  many  Moslems  entering  China  and  joining 
with  their  fellow  religionists  already  there.  In  1507  Islam 
was  carried  by  peaceful  penetration  into  the  southeast  and 
found  lodgment  in  the  island  world,  where  it  is  still  spread- 
ing and  making  converts.  Java  with  its  population  of  twen- 
ty-five millions  is  practically  Moslem,  the  center  of  the  faith 
among  the  Malays. 


MOHAMMEDANISM  299 

The  field  of  the  mediaeval  advance  of  Islam  in  Africa  was 
the  Sahara  and  the  Sudan.  The  Sahara  fell  rapidly  to 
Islam,  the  inducement  to  the  Arabs  being  trade  in  ivory  and 
slaves.  They  introduced  the  camel  as  they  advanced,  pene- 
trating farther  and  farther  to  the  south  and  capturing  some 
of  the  best  people  in  northern  Sudan.  Then  after  a  quies- 
cence of  three  hundred  years,  during  which  Islam  remained 
almost  stationary,  the  advance  southward  was  begun  again 
in  our  own  day  and  threatens  to  submerge  the  continent. 
Africa  will  not  long  remain  pagan;  will  she  be  Moslem  or 
Christian?  The  odds  are  now  greatly  in  favor  of  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Arabian  Prophet.  Why  this  advance  after  cen- 
turies of  inactivity  ?  So  long  as  the  slave-trade  continued  to 
exist  the  Arab  traders  could  not  desire  the  conversion  of  the 
Negroes,  for  by  Moslem  law  they  were  forbidden  from  mak- 
ing slaves  of  fellow-Moslems — they  all  belonged  to  one  great 
brotherhood.  But  when  the  trade  in  slaves  was  forever 
made  impossible  by  European  intervention  it  was  now  to  the 
advantage  of  the  traders  to  deal  with  the  blacks  as  Moslems. 
Their  wants  became  greater  and  their  desires  could  be  stim- 
ulated, as  was  impossible  in  their  pagan  condition.  Then, 
too,  when  European  governments  in  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  inaugurated  the  rule  of  law  and  order  wars  were 
brought  to  an  end  and  the  tribes  were  compelled  to  lay 
down  their  arms,  thus  taking  away  the  one  pagan  protec- 
tion against  Islam.  For  generations  and  even  centuries  they 
had  sedulously  excluded  any  Mohammedan  under  any  pre- 
text. They  feared  the  influence  of  Islam  like  a  pestilence. 
But  now  the  Mohammedan  trader  and  school-teacher  and 
missionary  have  access  everywhere,  and  they  are  making 
the  most  of  their  opportunity.  When  to  all  this  is  added  the 
actual  patronage  of  Islam  by  certain  governments  for  rea- 
sons of  political  expediency,  the  impression  made  on  the 
native  is  most  favorable  to  the  religion  of  the  Prophet — a 
strange  commentary  on  the  influence  of  so-called  Christian 
nations. 


300  THE   RELIGIONS    OF    MANKIND 

Thus  Islam  has  advanced  until  to-day,  with  an  estimated 
strength  of  two  hundred  millions,  scattered  all  the  way  from 
China  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  in  Africa  and  from  the 
banks  of  the  Volga  in  Russia  to  the  waters  of  the  south  seas, 
the  religion  of  Mohammed  is  a  world  religion,  the  most 
powerful  of  all  the  rivals  of  Christianity  in  its  attempt  to 
win  mankind.  It  has  been  said  that  Islam  is  a  stepping-stone 
toward  Christianity.  Undoubtedly  when  a  pagan  tribe  is 
converted  it  is  raised  to  a  slightly  higher  level.  But,  unfor- 
tunately, it  is  left  there  stranded  with  no  possibility  of  fur- 
ther progress.  Islam  adds  dignity  to  the  savage,  clothes 
him  in  a  certain  respectability,  and  brings  him  within  the 
bound  of  a  world-embracing  brotherhood.  These  benefits, 
together  with  that  of  a  belief  in  one  great  God,  Allah,  in- 
stead of  cringing  fear  in  the  presence  of  a  thousand  spirits 
and  demons,  must  be  acknowledged  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  change  in  many  cases  is  more  seeming  than  real.  But — 
and  this  is  the  final  test — when  Islam  brings  even  greater 
sensuality,  stimulates  divorce  and  polygamy  and,  in  so  far 
as  it  dares,  slavery;  when  its  presence  always  results  in  the 
seclusion  and  neglect  of  women,  the  religion  of  Islam  can 
only  be  looked  upon  as  a  blight  to  every  people  among  whom 
it  has  come.  And  as  for  being  a  stepping-stone,  the  proud 
and  overbearing  attitude  which  is  always  assumed  in  the 
presence  of  the  followers  of  any  other  religion — and  this  is 
particularly  true  of  Christians — would  make  Islam  appear 
to  be  the  greatest  barrier  to  the  progress  of  Christianity  in 
the  world  to-day. 

But  even  Islam  does  not  present  a  united  front.  Deep 
cleavages  began  soon  to  appear  and  have  always  been  pres- 
ent. The  most  significant  is  that  between  the  Sunnis  and 
the  Shiites.  The  Sunnis  represent  the  great  body  of  Mos- 
lems, the  followers  of  the  Sunna,  or  Traditions.  The  Shiites, 
or  "Followers,"  are  the  adherents  of  Ali,  who  married  Mo- 
hammed's daughter  Fatima  and  thus  continued  the  Proph- 
et's line.  The  Shiites  hold  to  "the  divine  right  of  the  de- 


MOHAMMEDANISM  301 

scendants  of  the  Prophet  through  the  children  of  AH  and 
Fatima"*  to  be  the  rulers  of  the  Islamic  world.  This  claim 
is  repudiated  by  the  Sunnis,  who  have  allowed  the  choice  of 
the  people  to  determine  the  question  of  the  headship  of  the 
religion.  The  Shiites,  who  are  about  nine  millions  strong, 
are  found  principally  in  Persia,  though  like-minded  believ- 
ers in  Ali  are  widely  scattered  in  various  Moslem  lands.  To 
them  Ali  was  the  first  Imam,  or  head  of  the  religion,  after 
the  Prophet.  He  is  ~  raised  to  such  a  level  that  even  Mo- 
hammed pales  into  insignificance  before  him.  An  Imam  is 
imperative  for  every  age  as  the  religious  authority  for  the 
people  as  well  as  their  political  ruler.  There  have  been 
twelve  of  these  Imams,  the  last  of  whom  is  still  alive,  though 
he  has  disappeared  and  exerts  his  influence  invisibly.  In  the 
end  a  Mahdi,  or  guide,  is  to  appear  to  restore  all  things  and 
usher  in  the  final  consummation.  The  Messianic  idea  thus 
has  its  place  in  Islam,  repudiated  for  the  most  part  by  the 
Sunnis  but  becoming  "the  vital  nerve  of  the  entire  Shiite 
system/'9  When  to  their  positive  views  the  Shiites  have 
added  intolerance,  even  to  fellow-Mohammedans  not  agree- 
ing with  them,  this  division  in  their  ranks  appears  as  a 
serious  impediment  to  unity  of  thought  and  purpose.  Other 
movements,  like  that  of  the  Wahabites,  who  more  than  a 
century  ago  in  Arabia  inaugurated  a  Puritan  movement  and 
strenuously  opposed  all  innovations  as  contrary  to  the  tradi- 
tions, and  that  of  the  Senussi  in  recent  years,  with  their  cen- 
ter in  an  oasis  in  the  Sahara,  who  sought  to  stimulate  a 
closer  union  between  all  Moslems,  with  the  desire  to  make 
Islam  again  the  great  power  she  had  once  been  in  the  world 
— such  movements  and  others  like  them  indicate  restless- 
ness within  the  ranks  and  the  desire  to  push  the  claims  of 
Islam  with  greater  zeal. 

But  these  divisions  and  tendencies  are  for  the  time  being 

'Goldziher,  Mohammed  and  Islam,  p.  222.     (Yale  Univ.  Press, 
New  Haven,  1917.) 
9  Goldziher,  op.  cit,  p.  246. 


302  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

of  lesser  importance  than  the  political  condition  in  which 
Islam  finds  herself  in  the  world.  The  movement  called  Pan- 
Isiamism,  which  had  been  stimulated  for  years  by  the  Sultan 
of  Turkey,  was  making  real  progress,  and  the  European 
nations,  Great  Britain,  Holland,  and  France,  which  had  vast 
populations  of  Moslems  in  their  colonial  possessions,  were 
watching  anxiously  the  tendencies  which  were  taking  shape. 
Then  came  the  war  in  1914  and  the  Moslem  world  was  rent 
in  twain.  Turkey  allowed  herself  to  become  a  pliable  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  Germany  and  attempted  to  persuade 
and  cajole  the  entire  following  of  the  Prophet  into  war  on 
the  same  side.  But  Islam  failed  to  show  the  unity  which 
many  fondly  expected,  and  the  dreams  of  a  great  united 
Pan-Islamic  movement  were  doomed  to  disappointment.  To 
add  to  the  difficulties  the  Sherif  of  Mecca,  the  guardian  of 
the  sacred  cities  of  the  faith,  proclaimed  the  independence  of 
the  Hejaz  and  set  up  a  government  of  his  own.  Under 
British  protection  he  has  held  his  place  and  may  continue  to 
do  so  for  the  future.  What  attitude  will  the  Moslems  scat- 
tered all  over  the  world  take  ?  The  Turkish  Sultan  has  been 
recognized  as  the  Caliph  only  by  grace  of  necessity  and  the 
power  he  has  for  so  long  been  able  to  wield.  But  with  the 
sacred  land  of  Mohammed  in  the  hand  of  an  Arab  king, 
what  will  be  the  attitude  of  Islam  ?  Shall  the  Caliphate  con- 
tinue to  be  a  perquisite  of  the  Sublime  Porte  or  shall  it  be 
transferred  to  other  hands?  And  even  more  significantly, 
will  Islam  continue  to  claim  the  right  to  temporal  power,  or, 
under  the  stress  of  circumstances,  will  she  be  satisfied  to  be 
reckoned  among  the  religious  forces  of  the  world,  depending 
no  longer  on  the  power  of  the  state  but  solely  on  her  spirit- 
ual resources?  It  has  been  said  that  this  is  impossible  in 
Islam,  but  no  one  in  the  present  situation  can  predict  the 
changes  which  are  to  take  place.  And  among  these  changes 
none  are  more  sure  or  more  significant  than  those  which 
are  to  transform  the  religions  of  the  world  into  forms  very 
different  from  those  we  now  see.  Islam  has  been  more 


MOHAMMEDANISM  303 

deeply  affected  by  recent  world  movements  than  many  in 
her  own  fold  are  willing  to  acknowledge,  and  it  must  eventu- 
ally become  evident  that  she  must  accommodate  herself  to 
modern  life  and  thought — or  be  lost. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

D.  S.  Margoliouth,  Mohammedanism  (Home  University  Library). 

A  short  but  excellent  summary  of  the  faith  and  its  practices. 
P.  De  Lacy  Johnstone,  Muhammed  and  His  Power   (Edinburgh, 

1901).    One  of  the  best  short  accounts  of  the  Prophet  and  his 

system. 
The  Koran,  translated  by  J.  M.  Rodwell  (Everyman's  Library).    A 

convenient  volume,  with  Suras  arranged  chronologically  and  notes. 
H.  U.  W.  Stanton,  The  Teaching  of  the  Qur'an  (London,  1919).    A 

short  summary  with  a  full  index. 
D.  B.  Macdonald,  Aspects  of  Islam  (New  York,  1911).    One  of  the 

best  interpretations,  by  a  master. 
C.   Snouck  Hurgronje,  Mohammedanism    (New   York,   1916).     A 

short  but  authoritative  interpretation. 
George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  Vol.  II,  Chaps.  XVI- 

XXII. 


CHAPTER  XII 
CHRISTIANITY 

JESUS  CHRIST 

LITTLE  is  known  of  the  early  life  of  Jesus  Christ.  Born 
a  few  years  before  the  year  A.  D.  I  in  Bethlehem  of  Judaea, 
he  lived  in  Nazareth,  a  city  of  Galilee,  until  he  was  about 
thirty  years  of  age.  We  have  no  reason  to  doubt  the  tradi- 
tion that  after  the  death  of  Joseph,  the  head  of  the  family, 
Jesus  became  the  main  support  of  Mary  and  the  younger 
children.  He  worked  at  his  trade,  that  of  a  carpenter,  and 
lived  the  life  which  would  be  expected  of  a  religiously- 
minded  young  Hebrew.  We  have  only  one  glimpse  into  his 
life  and  mind  during  all  this  period,  and  that  was  when  Jesus 
was  a  boy  of  twelve.  He  went  up  with  Joseph  and  Mary 
to  Jerusalem  to  the  feast  of  the  Passover.  Here  he  came 
into  touch  with  the  official  teachers  of  the  people  and  amazed 
them  by  his  questions  and  his  answers.  He  was  not  only 
religiously  inclined  but  showed  insight  and  discrimination 
beyond  his  years.  Upon  being  questioned  by  his  mother  as 
to  his  reason  for  staying  in  the  city  and  not  starting  with 
them  on  the  homeward  journey,  Jesus  seemed  surprised  that 
it  had  not  occurred  to  them  that  the  natural  place  for  him 
to  be  was  in  his  Father's  house.  He  seemed  already  to  show 
a  sense  of  unique  relationship  with  God,  whom  it  was  nat- 
ural for  him  to  call  Father.  With  this  beginning  at  twelve 
we  may  imagine  the  inner  development  and  preparation  for 
his  life  task  which  must  have  taken  place  during  the  subse- 
quent eighteen  "silent  years"  at  Nazareth,  before  he  ap- 
peared in  a  new  role  as  a  teacher  of  the  people. 

At  about  the  age  of  thirty  Jesus  suddenly  appeared  at  the 
Jordan,  where  John,  a  cousin  of  his,  was  performing  the 


CHRISTIANITY  305 

rite  of  baptism  on  those  who  came  professing  a  desire  to 
amend  their  ways  and  live  better  lives.  Jesus  also  came 
and,  against  the  scruples  of  John,  who  saw  that  Jesus  was 
in  different  case  from  the  others,  was  baptized.  It  marked 
a  turning-point,  for  with  the  outward  ritual  act  came  an 
inner  spiritual  experience  of  profound  significance  for  Jesus. 
A  voice  assured  him  that  he  was  in  a  unique  sense  his 
Father's  "beloved  Son,"  in  whom  he  was  "well  pleased." 
It  seems  to  have  been  the  consummation  of  his  thought  and 
prayer  and  eager  yearning  for  many  years.  He  had  re- 
ceived his  revelation.  He  was  filled  with  a  sense  of  mission, 
of  having  a  work  to  do  and  a  message  to  deliver,  which  to 
the  end  of  his  life  did  not  leave  him  for  a  moment.  Imme- 
diately after  this  new  experience  Jesus  passed  through  a 
period  of  "temptation,"  in  which  he  decided  upon  the  prin- 
ciples and  the  methods  of  his  work  in  bringing  in  the  king- 
dom of  God.  This  was  his  God-given  task;  how  was  it  to 
be  performed  ?  The  kingdom  must  be  ushered  in  by  a  clear 
emphasis  on  the  spiritual  rather  than  the  physical  element; 
by  a  firm  reliance  on  God's  goodness  and  power,  which 
would  repudiate  any  spectacular  aids ;  and  by  such  a  single- 
hearted  allegiance  to  God  that  compromise  with  evil  and 
subservience  to  the  lower  standards  represented  by  the 
evil  one  would  be  instantly  repudiated.  Having  passed 
through  this  crisis,  Jesus  went  out  and  for  a  period,  vari- 
ously estimated  from  one  to  three  years,  proclaimed  the 
message  of  the  new  kingdom. 

He  went  from  place  to  place  in  Palestine  preaching  in 
the  synagogues  and  out-of-doors  wherever  the  people  con- 
gregated, and  talking  to  individuals  and  to  groups  as  they 
came  to  him  with  their  questions  and  problems.  He  began 
to  gather  about  him  a  little  company  of  disciples,  which  soon 
grew  to  twelve  and  which  accompanied  him  on  all  his  jour- 
neys. He  spent  much  time  in  giving  them  instruction  and 
on  several  occasions  sent  them  out  to  heal  and  to  preach. 
Around  this  smaller  and  more  intimate  group  a  larger  num- 


3o6          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

her,  who  had  been  attracted  by  the  teacher  and  healer,  gath- 
ered and  evidently  followed  him  as  far  as  their  other  duties 
would  allow.  He  spent  much  of  his  time  in  and  about  Gali- 
lee, though  on  several  notable  occasions  he  went  to  Jerusa- 
lem, the  religious  center  of  Jewish  life,  and  there  came  into 
contact  with  the  leaders  of  the  people.  But  whether  with 
individuals  or  large  audiences,  whether  among  friends  or 
bitter  opponents,  Jesus  preserved  the  same  poise  and  self- 
control.  He  was  always  simple,  candid,  and  sincere,  and 
carried  about  with  him  such  an  atmosphere  of  quiet  assur- 
ance that  what  he  said  always  struck  home,  and  caused  men 
and  women  in  spite  of  themselves  to  recognize  his  right  to 
speak  and  be  heard.  His  words  carried  their  own  authority 
and  did  not  need  the  backing  of  rabbis  and  teachers  and 
writings  of  recognized  worth.  He  was  heard  with  equal 
pleasure  and  understanding  by  the  ignorant  and  learned,  so 
simple  and  concrete  were  his  words.  Yet  lurking  behind 
these  vivid  stories,  taken  from  the  life  all  knew  so  well, 
were  the  most  profound  and  fundamental  truths,  which  the 
careless  were  quite  likely  to  miss.  Jesus  even  cast  his 
thought  into  story  form,  that  of  the  parable,  for  the  very 
purpose  of  testing  his  hearers.  It  did  not  require  high  intel- 
lectual attainment  but  moral  sincerity  was  necessary  to 
probe  beneath  the  surface  and  find  the  hidden  truth,  which 
to  the  vulgar  and  the  inert  would  mean  little  or  nothing. 
At  other  times  his  thought  took  the  form  of  epigrams, 
which  among  the  peoples  of  the  East  are  so  dearly  loved,  and 
still  again  he  would  use  the  forms  of  the  apocalyptic  writers 
of  his  age.  Whether  all  the  imagery  and  all  the  predictions 
placed  in  the  mouth  of  Jesus  in  the  great  apocalyptic  dis- 
courses were  given  out  by  him  in  just  this  form,  or  in  a  few 
cases  at  all,  is  an  exceedingly  difficult  question.  What  we 
may  feel  sure  of  is  that  he  was  not  only  a  preacher  of  pleas- 
ant and  comforting  things,  but  could  be  as  severe  as  the 
divine  judgment  itself  in  his  denunciations  of  sin  and  un- 
righteousness, of  hypocrisy  and  unreality  in  religion. 


CHRISTIANITY  307 

Jesus  came  to  establish  a  kingdom,  and  this  was  the  bur- 
den of  his  message.  But  he  never  forgot  that  the  form  of 
the  kingdom  and  many  things  connected  with  its  coming 
were  of  lesser  significance  than  the  inner  facts  and  principles 
on  which  it  was  based.  The  first  of  these  was  man's  rela- 
tionship with  God.  He  had  been  called  Father  before,  but 
never  with  the  fullness  of  meaning  which  it  carried  after 
Jesus  had  by  word  and  act  shown  what  it  meant.  God  is 
our  Father,  with  all  the  tender  love  and  unfailing  strength 
which  the  term  "Father"  has  taken  on  through  Jesus'  words 
and  example  of  filial  trust.  And  quite  as  much  did  the  term 
take  on  new  meaning  through  Jesus'  example  of  compas- 
sion and  solicitude  over  suffering  and  sinning  men  and 
women.  It  was  a  new  revelation  in  the  world,  and  has 
opened  the  eyes  of  men  since  that  time  to  a  new  conception 
of  the  character  of  God,  for  nothing  like  that  had  ever  been 
seen  among  men.  He  taught  that  this  Father  was  ready  and 
anxious  to  forgive  all  who  came  to  him  without  respect  to 
race  or  position  in  society  or  any  other  outward  distinction. 
The  condition  of  the  heart  was  the  only  thing  which  mat- 
tered. The  seriousness  of  the  issues  of  life  were  not  mini- 
fied, and  terrible  things  were  spoken  with  respect  to  the  fate 
of  the  obdurate,  only  it  was  never  to  be  forgotten  that  men 
were  always  dealing  with  a  Father  whose  compassion  would 
never  fail  and  who  could  save  to  the  uttermost. 

Jesus  was  not  a  social  or  political  reformer.  We  cannot 
even  tell  what  he  felt  and  thought  about  certain  questions 
which  were  agitating  the  men  of  his  day,  not  to  speak  of  all 
the  movements  with  which  his  name  has  been  connected 
from  that  time  to  this.  Yet  he  laid  down  principles  of  the 
relations  of  man  to  man  which  have  been  revolutionary  in 
the  history  of  the  world.  He  recognized  none  of  the  arbi- 
trary distinctions  which  divide  men,  and  on  the  basis  of  his 
attitude  a  true  democracy  has  been  made  possible.  He  did 
not  explicitly  condemn  slavery,  but  men  have  only  been  made 
free  where  his  example  and  his  teaching  have  been  made 


3o8  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

known.  He  did  not  inveigh  against  the  forms  of  government 
which  prevailed  in  his  day,  but  all  tyrannies  and  autocracies 
have  had  reason  to  fear  when  oppression  and  disregard  of 
the  rights  of  man  have  been  seen  in  the  light  of  his  teaching. 
He  did  not  proclaim  a  new  social  order,  but  the  upheaval  of 
the  present  day,  which  is  shaking  the  very  foundations  of 
civilization,  would  never  have  come  had  it  not  been  for  the 
vision  of  all  men  and  women  possessing  equal  rights  and 
opportunities  which  truly  expresses  the  spirit  of  Jesus. 
Jesus  was  always  ready  to  urge  that  his  kingdom  was  spirit- 
ual, to  be  realized  within  the  hearts  of  men,  but  the  effect  of 
such  a  conception  has  been  to  work  its  way  out  into  all  the 
relationships  in  which  men  find  themselves  and  bring  them 
into  harmony  with  his  ideals. 

Jesus  was  not  only  a  teacher ;  he  was  a  worker  of  miracles. 
The  Gospels  tell  us  that  he  cured  the  sick,  opened  the  eyes 
of  the  blind,  fed  the  hungry,  stilled  the  storm,  and  even 
raised  the  dead.  Much  was  made  of  these  wonders  by  for- 
mer generations  of  Christians,  who  used  them  as  proofs  of 
the  divine  character  of  the  one  who  performed  them.  Such 
use  of  these  incidents  does  not  produce  the  effect  it  once  did 
and  is  being  discarded.  A  closer  study  of  the  attitude  of 
Jesus  toward  his  own  miraculous  power  clearly  indicates 
that  he  minimized  its  significance.  He  would  have  men 
secure  a  better  perspective  and  realize  that  moral  power  was 
on  a  higher  level  than  the  ability  to  work  marvels.  With 
this  in  view  it  scarcely  seems  congruous  to  use  the  miracles 
in  a  way  which  could  scarcely  be  acceptable  to  Jesus  himself. 
What  they  really  do  is  to  provide  a  window  into  the  inner 
life  of  Jesus,  which  presents  a  far  more  wonderful  scene 
than  merely  the  ability  to  do  what  others  could  not.  It 
shows  the  heart  of  compassion  which  was  beating  in  his 
breast,  leading  him  to  acts  of  mercy  and  kindness  which 
involved  the  use  of  all  the  powers  at  his  command.  It  was 
at  the  point  of  his  unbounded  compassion,  which  led  him  at 
times  almost  against  his  better  judgment  to  give  of  himself 


CHRISTIANITY  309 

to  relieve  suffering  and  sorrow  and  want,  that  the  great  dif- 
ference between  Jesus  and  themselves  must  have  become 
evident  to  his  disciples.  He  lived  vicariously — had  it  not 
been  so,  his  death  would  never  have  assumed  the  significance 
it  did  for  the  disciples  of  that  and  all  subsequent  ages. 

Jesus  was  living  among  sinning  men  and  women  and  was 
constantly  dealing  with  the  malady  at  the  root  of  human  life. 
His  analysis  of  character  and  his  ability  to  read  the  inner 
motives  of  men  give  ample  evidence  of  the  deepest  moral 
insight  and  sincerity.  Yet  with  all  this  he  was  not  conscious 
of  sin  in  his  own  life  and  was  willing  to  throw  out  the  chal- 
lenge to  anyone  to  lay  his  finger  on  any  spot  or  blemish. 
That  a  man  should  be  able  to  state  an  ideal  which  still  goes 
beyond  the  possibility  of  the  deepest  ethical  thinker  to  im- 
prove is  an  achievement  unmatched  in  the  history  of  ethical 
theory,  but  that  this  teacher  should  match  his  ideal  with  his 
life,  should  live  it  out  so  that  the  example  is  more  beautiful 
than  the  precept,  is  to  raise  Jesus  to  an  unapproachable  pin- 
nacle of  excellence.  We  must  use  words  which  cannot  be 
applied  to  any  other  of  the  sons  of  men.  That  was  the  im- 
pression he  made  then,  and  it  i§  the  same  to-day.  A  unique 
event  had  transpired — a  -sSi^fjad  trodden  our  earth  of 
whom  it  could  be  said  that  he  had  not  sinned.  How  to 
classify  such  an  one  has  been  the  problem  of  problems  in 
theology  since  his  appearance. 

But  of  all  the  impressions  Jesus  made  the  strongest  was 
that  he  was  in  touch  with  God  his  Father  and  that  this  was 
the  explanation  of  all  the  wonderful  things  about  him.  His 
prayer-life  was  so  different  from  that  of  the  disciples  that 
they  came  asking  him  to  teach  them  how  to  pray.  He  was 
with  them  day  and  night,  and  yet  with  all  the  closeness  of 
the  fellowship  they  realized  that  their  Master  had  a  compan- 
ionship which  was  more  real  and  vital  to  him.  He  lived  in 
the  presence  of  the  spiritual  world  and  seemed  perfectly 
at  home.  God  was  to  him  a  personal  Being  with  whom  a 
life  might  be  shared,  not  some  power  or  indefinite  being 


310  THE  RELIGIONS  OF  MANKIND 

far  off  to  whom  we  must  send  our  prayers  and  who  lives 
in  a  world  so  strange  that  he  cannot  enter  into  the  mean- 
ing of  our  mundane  life.  But  this  above  all  else  is  what 
men  want  to  know.  Is  there  a  being  at  the  center  of  the 
universe  who  cares  ?  How  can  we  be  sure  ?  In  the  pres- 
ence of  Jesus  their  questions  were  answered.  In  some  mar- 
velous manner  their  association  with  him  carried  more  with 
it  than  they  had  thought  possible.  They  began  to  realize 
that  to  be  with  Jesus  gave  them  a  sense  of  nearness  to  God, 
and  this  continued  until  these  Jews,  dyed-in-the-wool  mono- 
theists  as  they  were,  found  themselves  offering  an  homage 
to  their  Master  which  was  little  different  from  their  attitude 
toward  God,  and  were  doing  it  with  no  sense  of  incon- 
gruity. 

Jesus,  however,  was  not  only  winning  followers  and  bring- 
ing them  close  to  God;  he  had  come  into  collision  with  the 
religious  authorities  of  his  people,  and  in  the  end  lost  his 
life  at  their  hands.  They  were  formalists  and  as  such  had 
not  averted  the  danger  of  losing  sight  of  the  vital  principles 
of  their  religion.  Jesus  was  an  innovator,  and  felt  free  to 
act  in  accordance  with  the  inner  spirit  of  the  old  precepts 
even  where  by  doing  so  he  ran  counter  to  the  letter  of  the 
law.  Jesus  also  failed  to  fulfill  the  popular  expectation  of 
what  the  expected  Messiah  should  be,  a  military  commander 
and  king,  who  should  lead  the  Jewish  nation  on  to  victory 
over  the  Roman  Eagles  and  establish  again  the  throne  of 
David  forever.  In  different  ways  Jesus  jarred  upon  the 
sensibilities  of  the  people  and  their  leaders.  He  was  not  one 
with  either  in  their  attitudes  and  expectations.  As  time 
elapsed  and  they  became  the  more  incensed  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees  set  about  deliberately  to  destroy  him  and  put  an 
end  to  his  influence.  The  break  had  been  coming  for  some 
time,  over  the  use  to  be  made  of  the  Sabbath.  When  the 
leaders  heard  that  he  allowed  his  disciples  to  pluck  corn  as 
they  passed  through  the  fields  and  that  he  even  healed  a  man 
on  the  Sabbath  day,  they  were  scandalized.  The  final  op- 


CHRISTIANITY  311 

portunity  came  when  Jesus  appeared  in  Jerusalem  at  the 
feast  of  the  Passover.  He  was  seized  and,  after  having  had 
a  preliminary  hearing  before  the  Jewish  high  priest  and 
Sanhedrin,  was  taken  before  Pontius  Pilate,  the  Roman  pro- 
curator, and  was  condemned  to  death.  He  was  crucified, 
together  with  two  criminals,  and  died  at  the  end  of  six 
hours'  agony  on  the  cross.  His  body  was  taken  down  by 
friends  in  the  early  evening  and  laid  in  a  rock-hewn  tomb. 
The  hopes  of  his  disciples  were  dashed  to  the  ground,  and 
undoubtedly  the  Jewish  leaders  and  the  Roman  authorities 
thought  they  had  rid  themselves  of  an  exceedingly  trouble- 
some creature. 

But  such  was  not  to  be,  for  a  very  remarkable  thing  hap- 
pened the  third  day  after.  To  the  utter  amazement  of  his 
disciples,  who  had  not  recovered  from  the  paralyzing  effect 
of  their  grief  and  disappointment,  Jesus  appeared  to  them 
so  unmistakably  that  they  were  convinced  that  death  had 
not  been  able  to  hold  its  victim  and  that  Jesus  was  alive. 
Their  new  enthusiasm,  the  founding  of  the  Christian  Church 
on  the  assurance  of  the  presence  of  the  living  Christ,  the 
adoption  of  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  a  memorial  of  the 
day  when  Jesus  reappeared  alive — all  these  historic  facts 
bear  witness  to  the  genuineness  of  the  disciples*  testimony 
that  the  same  Jesus  who  had  journeyed  with  them,  who  had 
died  and  had  been  laid  away  in  the  tomb,  was  raised  from 
the  dead,  their  living  Master  forevermore.  They  immedi- 
ately went  out  to  preach  "the  gospel  of  the  resurrection," 
and  with  that  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  was  begun. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  LIFE  AND  TEACHING 

The  earliest  Christians  were  Jews.  The  only  difference 
between  them  and  the  non-Christian  Jews  was  that  they 
believed  that  Jesus  was  the  expected  Messiah  and  the  others 
did  not.  They  felt  it  incumbent  on  them  to  observe  the  reg- 
ulations and  take  part  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  Jewish  faith. 


3i2  THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Coupled  with  this,  of  course,  was  their  enthusiastic  belief 
that  Jesus  was  the  Christ  and  that  in  him  all  the  hopes  and 
aspirations  which  had  rilled  the  minds  of  their  people  for 
hundreds  of  years  were  in  process  of  being  fulfilled.  It  was 
hard  even  for  the  disciples  of  Jesus  to  learn  the  lesson  that 
it  was  a  spiritual  kingdom  which  was  to  be  inaugurated  and 
not  a  political  kingdom,  whose  capital  was  to  be  in  Jeru- 
salem. There  were  these  two  aspects  of  the  Messianic 
hope,  one  kingly  and  political  and  the  other  spiritual  and 
sacrificial,  and  even  to  this  day  the  two  are  at  times  sadly 
confused.  These  early  disciples  took  it  for  granted  that 
the  way  to  Christ  was  through  the  portals  of  Judaism. 
Already  the  idea  of  Gentiles  becoming  fellow-religionists 
had  become  familiar  through  the  inclusion  of  proselytes  in 
the  Jewish  community.  Some  came  in  completely  by  not 
only  accepting  belief  in  Jehovah  and  the  obligation  of  the 
moral  law,  but  by  submitting  to  the  rite  of  circumcision. 
They  were  known  as  Proselytes  of  Righteousness.  Others 
were  worshipers  of  Jehovah  and  kept  the  moral  law,  but 
were  not  fully  amalgamated  with  the  community  by  the 
distinctive  rite  of  their  religion.  All  this  was  well  known 
to  the  early  Christians,  and  it  did  not  occur  to  them  that 
Gentiles  should  come  into  their  ranks  in  any  other  way. 
Let  them  first  become  circumcised,  then  they  would  be  eli- 
gible to  church  membership. 

This  rigid  theory  did  not  continue  long  without  challenge. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  developments  which  may  be 
traced  in  the  Book  of  Acts  is  the  movement  toward  greater 
liberality.  Much  is  made  of  the  conversion  of  Cornelius  the 
centurion  because  he  was  a  Roman,  a  "God-fearing  man," 
as  such  proselytes  were  called  in  the  New  Testament,  who 
was  baptized  by  Peter  irrespective  of  his  uncircumcised 
condition.  It  was  looked  upon  as  a  most  important  step, 
only  to  be  taken  under  the  direct  guidance  of  God's  Spirit. 
But  the  really  significant  move  occurred  when  Paul  forced 
the  issue  and  brought  matters  to  a  settlement  in  the  Jeru- 


CHRISTIANITY  313 

salem  council,  described  in  Acts  15.  He  had  become  quite 
free  in  admitting  Gentiles,  and  had  come  to  the  conviction 
that  the  new  religion  ought  to  stand  in  its  own  right  and  not 
be  in  the  leading  strings  of  Judaism.  Opposed  to  him  were 
the  "Judaizers,"  who  contended  that  the  obligation  to  become 
circumcised  and  obey  the  ceremonial  law  was  as  binding  on 
the  Christians  as  on  the  Jews.  Paul  brought  the  matter  to 
the  elders  at  Jerusalem,  and  after  careful  deliberation  the 
momentous  decision  was  reached  that  the  Gentiles  might 
be  admitted  to  the  Christian  churches  irrespective  of  any 
relation  to  Judaism.  It  was  the  first  crisis  through  which 
the  early  church  passed,  and  from  this  time  it  became  inde- 
pendent, and  the  development  which  followed  was  that  of 
its  own  genius,  as  the  inner  meaning  of  the  faith  began  to 
unfold  and  the  far-reaching  communities  came  into  contact 
with  the  world  of  thought  and  action  round  about. 

The  Old  Testament  was  the  Bible  of  the  early  Christians. 
Only  gradually  were  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  writ- 
ten and  accepted  by  the  churches.  The  New  Testament 
presupposes  the  existence  of  a  vigorous  religious  life,  out 
of  which  the  Gospels  and  letters  came.  The  words  and  acts 
of  Jesus  were  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth  and  were 
doubtless  arranged  in  order  for  catechetical  classes  before 
they  took  shape  as  we  have  them  now.  Not  for  about  two 
hundred  years  was  the  canon  fixed,  and  even  then  certain 
books,  like  the  Revelation,  were  looked  on  askance  by  cer- 
tain sections  of  the  church.  Many  of  the  doctrines  which 
were  taught,  like  belief  in  the  one  God  and  the  obligation 
of  the  moral  law,  were  taken  over  from  Judaism.  More 
and  more  completely,  however,  the  meaning  of  the  revela- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ  took  possession  of  their  minds  and 
transformed  even  the  old  truths  into  something  more  living 
and  real.  He  became  the  central  fact  of  their  faith  and  was 
raised  to  a  place  in  their  thinking  commensurate  with  the 
place  he  occupied  in  their  hearts  and  as  dynamic  in  their 
daily  living. 


3i4          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

The  second  Christian  century  is  one  of  the  most  obscure ; 
we  know  little  of  the  important  changes  which  were  taking 
place.  The  churches  came  into  contact  with  a  movement 
or  tendency  called  Gnosticism.  These  "Knowers"  had  doubt- 
less come  into  contact  with  a  philosophy  of  life  emanating 
from  Persia  or  even  farther  east  and  mingled  with  Greek 
theories  according  to  which  a  fundamental  cleavage  ran 
right  down  through  the  universe,  a  cleavage  not  only  between 
right  and  wrong,  but  even  more  fundamentally  between 
spirit  and  matter.  The  two  are  separated  by  a  chasm  so 
deep  and  wide  that  it  would  seem  almost  hopeless  to  bridge 
it.  Matter  was  looked  upon  as  intrinsically  and  inevitably 
evil  simply  because  it  was  matter.  It  could  not  be  saved; 
it  must  be  left  behind  if  the  spirit  of  man  were  to  be  eman- 
cipated. For  it  was  just  there  the  problem  pressed — man 
was  both  spirit  and  matter.  He  sought  to  be  free,  yet  was 
held  down  as  by  an  unsupportable  burden  by  the  flesh  and 
its  desires.  The  only  hope  was  that  by  repudiating  the  flesh 
and  by  giving  one's  self  to  ascetic  deprivations  the  body 
would  have  less  and  less  hold  and  the  spirit  would  be  free 
to  rise  slowly  through  degrees  of  divine  attainment  to  the 
plane  of  pure  spirituality  for  which  it  longed.  God,  who 
was  the  very  essence  of  spirit,  was  far  distant  from  this 
earth.  He  created  and  sustains  the  processes  of  the  material 
world  by  subservient  beings,  or  emanations,  which  exist  as 
a  kind  of  heavenly  hierarchy  in  varying  grades,  the  lowest 
of  which  have  actual  contact  with  men  and  their  affairs. 
This  movement  secured  access  to  the  church  itself  and 
formed  one  or  two  sects  about  which  little  is  known.  They 
wore  themselves  out  in  course  of  time  without  vitiating  the 
central  stream  of  Christian  life.  The  influence  of  the  move- 
ment remained,  however,  in  an  ascetic  attitude  which  has 
been  far  from  wholesome  in  the  church.  Continuing  to 
believe  that  the  body  was  inevitably  corrupt  and  that  its 
desires,  particularly  the  sexual  impulse,  were  evil  and  should 
be  suppressed,  a  ban  was  put  on  marriage  and  celibacy  was 


CHRISTIANITY 

declared  to  be  a  higher  state.  In  one  section  of  Syria  no  one 
was  to  be  baptized  who  was  living  in  the  married  state.  This 
extreme  was  not  followed  farther  west,  but  the  tendency 
maintained  itself  in  the  praise  of  virginity  and  the  enforced 
celibacy  of  monks  and  nuns  and  of  the  priesthood  of  the 
church. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  new  faith  came  into  contact 
with  the  most  powerful  intellectual  weapon  ever  forged  by 
the  human  mind,  Greek  thought.  The  origins  of  Christian- 
ity were  Hebraic,  its  forms  of  thought  and  the  method  of 
presentation  were  derived  from  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
habit  of  mind  of  the  Jewish  people.  But  even  before  the 
new  religion  arose  Judaism  had  come  into  contact  with 
Greek  thought,  notably  in  the  cosmopolitan  city  of  Alex- 
andria in  Egypt.  There  lived  and  wrote  at  about  the  time  of 
Christ  the  Jewish  philosopher  Philo,  who  was  deeply  tinc- 
tured with  Greek  learning.  He  made  use  of  the  conception 
of  the  Logos,  the  word  or  the  expression  of  the  distant  God, 
a  conception  which  was  taken  by  the  John  of  the  fourth 
Gospel  and  used  to  convey  one  of  the  most  profound  of  the 
great  Christian  ideas.  It  was  inevitable  that  Christianity, 
too,  should  sooner  or  later  be  influenced  by  the  same  power- 
ful instrument,  and  be  compelled  to  think  out  its  doctrines 
anew.  At  the  very  center  of  the  faith  was  Christ.  He  had 
saved  men  and  women  from  their  sins,  he  had  given  them 
the  hope  of  everlasting  life,  he  had  furnished  a  new  moral 
dynamic — in  all  these  respects  what  Christianity  had  to 
present  was  new  and  startling.  Nothing  like  it  had  been 
known  in  the  world  of  Paganism.  But  a  question  began  to 
press  itself  home  among  the  more  thoughtful  as  to  the  kind 
of  being  this  Christ  was.  The  discussion  took  many  forms, 
but  what  to  make  of  Christ,  related  both  to  God  and  man, 
was  the  burden  of  every  argument.  Jesus  was  a  human 
being,  that  was  quite  evident  from  his  life  among  men,  but 
these  Christian  thinkers  could  not  be  satisfied  to  leave  him 
there.  He  was  man,  but  more  than  man.  This  might  be 


316  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

easy  enough  to  say,  and  would  fit  in  well  with  the  experi- 
ence of  the  many  followers  of  Jesus  who  had  learned  to 
associate  him  with  God  and  to  worship  him,  but  it  was  quite 
a  different  thing  when  the  attempt  was  made  to  form  an 
exact  statement  in  the  terms  of  the  dominant  Greek 
philosophy. 

How  could  a  being  be  God  and  man  at  the  same  time? 
There  were  no  human  analogies  to  which  appeal  might  be 
made.  Two  marked  tendencies  appeared,  one  to  make  Jesus 
Christ  the  highest  of  all  the  creatures  God  had  made,  far 
above  any  other  being  known  in  the  universe,  and  yet  a 
creature  below  the  dignity  of  God  himself.  The  other  was 
to  take  the  bold  step  of  asserting  that  Jesus  was  truly 
man  and  at  the  same  time  truly  God,  that  he  was  not  a 
creature,  but  of  the  very  essence  of  God,  that  he  was  as 
much  a  part  of  God  as  the  Father  himself.  This  is  the 
meaning  of  the  decision  reached  at  the  first  general  council  of 
the  church  held  at  Nicea  in  325.  Arius  contended  that  Jesus 
was  a  created  being,  withal  the  very  highest  of  God's 
creation,  while  Athanasius  carried  the  council  with  him  in 
asserting  that  Jesus  was  of  the  "same  substance"  with  the 
Father,  and  as  eternal  Being  had  never  been  created  at 
all.  The  Christian  Church  has  gone  with  Athanasius. 
The  Christian  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  has  passed  through 
many  vicissitudes  and  may  have  many  more  crises  yet  to 
meet,  but  so  long  as  men  are  brought  into  the  presence  of 
Christ  and  see  in  him  their  Saviour  and  Lord  the  problem 
will  not  down.  Where  shall  such  a  being  be  placed  to  do 
justice  to  the  impress  of  the  facts  on  eager  men  and  women 
whose  lives  have  been  transformed  by  his  touch?  It  can- 
not be  among  men,  and  if  higher,  where  else  than  in  the 
very  being  of  God  himself?  And  to  do  that  means  some 
form  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  for  the  doctrine  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  follows  closely  on  that  of  the  Christ.  The 
final  solution  remains  still  to  be  discovered.  It  may  be  that 
it  will  never  be  solved  to  entire  satisfaction,  but  that  will  not 


CHRISTIANITY  317 

alter  the  situation — so  long  as  lives  are  being  made  over  in 
the  image  of  Jesus  Christ,  so  long  will  men  insist  upon  lift- 
ing him  up  to  the  only  level  which  will  satisfy  their  sense  of 
the  eternal  fitness  of  things. 

All  these  discussions  took  place  in  the  East,  which  was 
essentially  metaphysical.  The  day  of  the  West  was  not  yet 
come,  but  it  was  gathering  strength  during  the  years  and 
in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  we  come  to  the  command- 
ing figure  of  Augustine  (354-430),  the  theologian  of  the 
Western  church.  Now  the  West  was  the  complete  anti- 
thesis of  the  East;  it  was  preeminently  practical,  concerned 
less  about  metaphysical  distinctions  than  the  problems  of 
church  organization.  It  accepted  the  doctrinal  decisions  of 
the  four  great  orthodox  councils  as  a  matter  of  course;  it 
knew  how  to  submit  to  recognized  authority.  When  it 
came  to  further  developments  its  genius  was  shown  in  the 
formulation  of  the  extremely  practical  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion, of  God's  grace  in  receiving  sinners  and  placing  them 
on  a  standing  as  citizens  of  the  heavenly  kingdom.  This  was 
the  great  work  of  Augustine,  who  had  become  Bishop  of 
Hippo  in  North  Africa.  Together  with  this  unfolding  of 
the  doctrine  of  salvation  another  movement  was  in  progress, 
that  of  building  up  the  church  in  theory  and  in  practice  as 
the  representative  of  God  on  earth.  According  to  Augus- 
tine man  was  a  poor  helpless  creature,  lost  in  sin  and  misery, 
until  God  should  deign  to  take  him  and  by  his  irresistible 
grace  put  him  on  his  feet  and  make  him  one  of  his  elect 
children.  Now,  when  the  church  came  more  and  more  to 
stand  between  God  and  men  and  claim  possession  of  the 
only  means — the  sacraments — through  which  men  could  gain 
access  to  God,  the  power  of  the  church  over  the  conscience 
and  destiny  of  men  became  unbounded.  This  assertion  of 
the  church  of  the  right  to  dominate  the  life  of  men,  individ- 
ually and  in  every  relationship  even  up  to  the  high  position 
of  king  and  emperor,  is  the  dominant  note  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  modern  world  could  only  be  ushered  in  by  break- 


3i8          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

ing  through  the  authority  of  the  church  and  setting  free  the 
mind  of  man  from  the  intolerable  bondage. 

This  is  what  the  Renaissance  and  the  Reformation  did. 
They  gathered  into  striking  power  the  forces  which  had 
been  developing  for  generations  and  proclaimed  that  man 
was  free.  What  the  Renaissance  of  the  fifteenth  century 
did  for  the  intellect — and  with  many  unfortunate  features 
withal — that  the  Reformation  in  the  next  century,  led  by 
Martin  Luther,  accomplished  for  the  conscience  and  the 
spiritual  life.  Its  primary  religious  accomplishment  was 
that  it  tore  the  church  away  from  its  position  between  God 
and  man.  It  declared  clearly  and  unhesitatingly  that  the 
soul  of  man  stood  immediately  in  the  presence  of  its  Maker 
and  that  it  could  have  direct  dealing  with  him  without  cer- 
emonies or  ritual  or  sacraments  or  priest.  The  church  had 
its  place,  but  not  as  an  essential  mediator  between  men 
and  God.  It  was  fallible  as  the  men  who  led  it  and  com- 
posed it  were  fallible  and  had  not  the  right  to  demand  un- 
questioning obedience  to  its  behests.  So  much  the  Refor- 
mation settled  for  all  those  who  have  entered  into  the 
heritage  of  its  daring  leaders.  But  having  overturned  the 
authority  of  the  visible  church,  it  set  up  another  authority  in 
its  place,  that  of  the  Bible.  Undoubtedly  all  Protestants 
recognize  the  right  of  the  Bible  to  command  their  lives,  pro- 
vided, of  course,  they  be  given  full  right  of  interpretation. 
But  the  danger  has  been  that  the  Bible  should  be  made  the 
final  fact  in  Christianity.  Protestants  have  been  called  the 
People  of  the  Book,  and  this  has  been  carried  almost  if  not 
completely  to  the  point  of  bibliolatry.  On  the  other  hand 
there  are  those  who  would  not  dim  the  luster  of  the  Book 
nor  dimmish  its  rightful  authority  but  who  at  the  same  time 
see  clearly  that  the  revelation  contained  in  the  Book  found 
its  culmination  in  a  Person.  So  Christianity  as  its  very 
name  indicates  is  in  its  truest  sense  the  religion  of  a  Person. 
In  this  it  differs  from  both  Judaism  and  Islam,  which  are 
far  more  truly  religions  of  a  Book  and  of  obedience  to  its 


CHRISTIANITY  319 

requirements.  Christians  have  a  Book,  which  is  necessary 
to  apprehend  the  Person,  but  the  Person  is  primary,  the  cli- 
mactic and  distinguishing  point  in  the  religion. 

One  of  the  unfortunate  results  of  the  Reformation  was  the 
emphasis  laid  on  orthodoxy.  Men  were  to  be  saved  by  be- 
lieving, but  belief  was  defined,  not  in  the  Pauline  sense  of 
trust,  but  as  an  act  of  the  intellect,  accepting  a  set  of  propo- 
sitions as  true.  On  this  basis  the  important  thing  is  to  be- 
lieve the  right  doctrines,  so  doctrine-making  became  the 
occupation  of  the  age,  which  lasted  for  a  hundred  years  and 
more.  The  great  confessions,  which  still  are  the  creedal 
basis  of  our  church  life,  came  into  being.  But  with  all  this 
insistence  on  correctness  of  belief  the  churches  did  not 
thrive.  They  were  buried  under  the  burden  of  being  com- 
pelled to  believe  so  exactly  and  so  much  in  order  to  be 
saved.  Orthodoxy  was  the  sine  qua  non,  and  acceptance  of 
doctrines  covered  a  multitude  of  faults  and  even  sins,  which 
were  more  or  less  likely  to  be  winked  at  provided  men  ac- 
cepted the  standards  which  were  imposed.  The  real  reli- 
gious life  of  these  long  generations  in  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries  and  even  the  nineteenth  lay  in  other 
directions.  The  Pietistic  movement  in  Germany,  beginning 
under  Spener  and  Francke  late  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  the  Evangelical  Revival  in  England,  under  the  lead  of 
John  Wesley  and  George  Whitefield  in  the  eighteenth, 
brought  tens  of  thousands  of  the  common  people  into  an 
immediate  experience  of  communion  with  God,  which 
warmed  their  hearts  and  sent  them  out  rejoicing  to  tell 
others  the  good  news  of  God's  forgiving  love  and  the  victory 
they  were  having  over  sin. 

With  this  religious  quickening  came  a  new  sense  of  social 
and  moral  obligation.  The  emancipation  of  slaves,  the  refor- 
mation of  the  prison  system,  the  beginnings  of  the  Sunday 
school  movement,  and  the  founding  of  the  great  missionary 
societies,  near  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  in  the 
early  decades  of  the  nineteenth,  form  a  fitting  sequel  to  the 


320  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

stirring  of  a  real  religious  life  among  the  Protestant 
churches.  Slow  to  appreciate  the  significance  of  social  serv- 
ice, the  churches  have  in  recent  years  taken  upon  themselves 
in  a  new  way  the  burden  of  humanity  and  have  made  a  social 
creed  a  part  of  their  working  program.  The  work  has  only 
yet  begun,  but  convictions  are  being  born  in  the  hearts  of 
an  increasing  number  each  year  that  the  church  can  never 
fulfill  its  duty  and  be  true  to  its  Master  without  devoting 
itself  to  the  task  of  making  this  world  over  again  in  all  its 
relationships,  that  justice  and  love,  mutual  forbearance  and 
respect,  and  an  equal  opportunity  for  all  shall  be  the  mark  of 
our  civilization. 

And  now  again  Christianity  finds  herself  in  the  midst  of 
an  intellectual  crisis.  It  has  been  in  progress  for  a  half 
century  and  more  and  no  one  as  yet  quite  sees  the  way  out. 
The  doctrine  of  evolution,  applied  now  to  the  social  and 
historical  sciences  as  well  as  to  inanimate  nature,  and  the 
methods  of  literary  and  historical  criticism,  whose  sweep 
nothing  escapes,  have  brought  the  intellect  of  the  world  face 
to  face  with  the  necessity  of  a  new  interpretation.  It  can- 
not be  escaped.  Should  Christianity  fail  to  use  the  oppor- 
tunity to  make  a  reappraisal  of  its  documents  and  its  doc- 
trines in  the  light  of  the  new  methods  and  the  new  knowl- 
edge, its  day  would  have  passed.  But  this  is  just  what 
Christianity  has  done  in  the  past  and  what  it  shows  vigorous 
signs  of  doing  now.  And  when  it  shall  have  discovered  the 
eternal  and  disengaged  it  from  the  changing  and  the  tem- 
porary, and  when  it  shall  have  learned  to  use  with  greater 
intelligence  the  instruments  which  are  now  being  put  into 
its  hands,  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  shall  again  lead  the 
way  into  conquests  of  the  mind  and  spirit  greater  than  any 
in  the  years  that  have  gone  by. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  ITS  EXPANSION 

That  Jesus  did  not  undertake  a  mission  without  the  bor- 
ders of  his  own  land  is  quite  evident;  that  he  did  not  con- 


CHRISTIANITY  321 

template  an  extension  of  his  kingdom  into  all  the  world,  as 
some  would  maintain,  is  contrary  not  only  to  certain  sayings 
which  have  come  down  to  us,  but  to  his  general  attitude  and 
bearing.  He  who  saw  "all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and 
the  glory  of  them"  at  the  very  inception  of  his  ministry,  and 
he  who  was  steeped  in  the  message  of  the  Old  Testament 
prophets,  with  their  broad  outlook,  which  extended  out  to 
the  very  bounds  of  the  then  known  world — such  a  one  could 
scarcely  fail  to  see  down  through  the  years  a  kingdom  which 
would  be  as  inclusive  as  the  human  race.  And  this  may  be 
held  despite  the  fact  that  Jesus  gave  implicit  instruction  to 
his  disciples,  when  he  sent  them  out  to  preach  and  to  heal, 
to  go  to  none  save  the  "lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel," 
and  despite  the  uncertain  testimony  of  this  verse  or  that 
which  has  been  questioned  by  textual  criticism.  Surely,  the 
Gospel  of  John  rightly  interprets  the  inner  meaning  of 
Jesus'  life  and  teaching  when  it  shows  him  with  his  eyes 
fixed  on  the  wide  world,  and  tearing  down  Jewish  as  well 
as  Samaritan  pretensions  in  declaring  that  neither  at  Jeru- 
salem nor  yet  on  Mount  Gerizim  was  the  place  where  the 
Father  should  be  worshiped.  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  all  that  is 
required  is  that  he  shall  be  worshiped  "in  spirit  and  truth," 
a  condition  which  can  be  met  anywhere.  This  declaration 
has  been  called  the  "Charter  of  Universal  Worship." 

The  disciples  in  the  earliest  day  failed  to  realize  what 
Jesus  really  meant.  It  remained  for  the  imperial-minded 
Paul  to  catch  the  vision  of  the  full  sweep  of  his  Master's 
kingdom.  He  made  Christianity  a  world  religion.  In  his 
own  person  he  carried  the  Gospel  into  the  Greek  world 
of  Ephesus  and  Corinth  and  Athens,  and  was  not  satisfied 
until  he  had  reached  Rome.  The  whole  motive  of  the 
book  of  Acts,  according  to  Harnack,  is  to  trace  this  ad- 
vance, from  a  corner  of  the  empire  to  the  imperial  capi- 
tal itself.  When  once  it  was  domiciled  there  the  new  reli- 
gion could  claim  to  be  in  the  full  tide  of  the  world's  life, 
and  might  rest  assured  that,  given  time,  it  would  reach  the 


322          THE  RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

farthest  extremities  of  the  imperial  regime,  for  in  a  literal 
sense  "All  roads  lead  to  Rome,"  and  from  Rome  back  again 
to  the  bounds  of  the  civilized  world.  It  took  about  three 
hundred  years  to  accomplish  this  result.  When  Constantine, 
the  ruler  of  the  united  empire,  called  the  Council  of  Nicea 
in  325,  Christianity  had  triumphed.  For  many  years  pagan- 
ism lingered  on,  showing  considerable  strength  where  Chris- 
tianity had  not  as  yet  penetrated  deeply,  but  its  doom  was 
sealed.  Constantine  recognized  that  it  was  the  one  solid, 
dependable  unity  in  his  empire,  and  espoused  its  cause.  Not 
that  he  was  a  devout  man  willing  to  bind  his  life  by  the 
moral  restraints  of  the  religion,  but  that  he  saw  its  worth 
and  recognized  that  he  must  lean  on  it  if  he  were  to  con- 
solidate the  gains  which  had  come  by  his  victories  over 
his  rivals. 

During  the  three  hundred  years  of  its  conflict  Christianity 
had  undergone  a  number  of  bitter  and  bloody  persecutions. 
It  had  overcome  the  strenuous  opposition  of  the  Eastern 
cults,  like  Mithraism,  which  for  a  time  had  spread  like  wild- 
fire, and  it  had  given  ample  demonstration  of  an  inner  power 
which  was  possessed  by  no  other  religion  and  which  carried 
it  on  to  almost  inevitable  victory.  Its  works  of  mercy  and 
help,  which  were  like  a  balm  in  a  sorely  tried  world,  its 
strenuous  insistence  on  the  acceptance  of  a  new  moral  stand- 
ard, unknown  before  and  scoffed  at  by  a  degenerate  race  of 
pleasure-seekers,  the  deliverance  which  it  promised  to  men 
and  women  held  in  bondage  by  vicious  habits  and  to  those 
who  were  longing  after  spiritual  freedom,  gave  the  religion 
of  Jesus  a  leverage  which  enabled  it  to  accomplish  wonders 
in  that  Roman  world.  Not  that  all  was  at  peace  within. 
Different  standards  prevailed,  heresy  began  to  show  its  head, 
and  leaders  were  advancing  theories  and  recommending 
practices  which  did  not  command  the  approval  of  others 
and  which  at  times  sadly  rent  the  fabric  of  church  life.  But 
what  is  clear  is  that  the  testimony  of  the  church  to  the 
leadership  of  a  living  Christ  and  the  presence  of  the  Spirit 


CHRISTIANITY  323 

within  was  made  good,  and  men  began  to  see  that  what  the 
Christians  professed  was  not  a  cunningly  devised  fable  but 
a  new  power. 

The  adoption  of  the  church  by  Constantine  was  a  remark- 
able testimony  to  the  presence  of  a  new  force  in  the  Western 
world,  with  which  no  other  could  be  compared.  What  hap- 
pened in  the  decades  which  followed,  when  the  recently  per- 
secuted faith  was  not  only  released  from  the  dangers  which 
had  constantly  hung  over  it,  but  was  placed  in  the  position  of 
favor  and  of  authority,  is  not  pleasant  reading.  In  order  to 
win  the  more  readily  the  many  pagans  who  still  were  to  be 
found  and  to  make  itself  less  forbidding  to  the  elite  and  the 
cultured  in  the  cities  and  at  court,  the  church  lowered  its 
standards,  and  suffered  immeasurably  in  its  inner  spirit  and 
life.  Its  opposition  to  the  loose  living  which  prevailed  every- 
where was  not  so  genuine,  and  the  admission  of  pagan  prac- 
tices and  rites  into  the  church  contaminated  the  purity  of 
its  testimony.  Thus  saint-  and  image-worship  took  the  place 
of  the  old  polytheism  and  idolatry,  and  various  masses  which 
arose  had  a  most  suspicious  likeness  to  old  heathen  cere- 
monies. The  church  had  conquered  the  world  in  outward 
conquest,  but  the  world  had  infected  the  church  with  its 
pagan  spirit.  Undoubtedly,  much  of  this  took  place  uncon- 
sciously and  very  gradually,  but  the  influence  was  just  the 
same.  The  church  had  become  a  great  compact  organiza- 
tion under  the  theory  of  the  monarchical  episcopacy,  and  this 
meant  that  it  must  act  in  the  manner  of  such  organizations. 
Political  expediency  overbalanced  all  other  considerations 
and  made  of  the  church  a  great  worldly  power  seeking  by  all 
means  to  retain  its  ascendency.  And  when  the  unity  of  the 
church,  particularly  in  the  active  West,  was  assured  by  the 
rise  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  to  a  place  of  commanding  power, 
its  future  could  no  longer  be  in  doubt,  despite  the  barbarian 
inroads  which  threatened  to  engulf  the  old  civilization  in 
their  irresistible  advance.  The  church  which  centered  in 
Rome  was  the  one  immovable  rock  in  the  welter  of  upheaval 


324          THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

and  change.  It  held  its  own  until  the  world  settled  down 
again,  and,  with  all  our  criticism  and  condemnation  of  irreg- 
ularity and  abuse,  it  must  be  credited  with  saving  the  day  for 
Christianity  in  a  time  when  the  very  foundations  seemed  to 
be  crumbling. 

During  the  Middle  Ages  the  church  succeeded  in  winning 
the  peoples  of  Northern  Europe.  The  Kelts  in  France  and 
the  British  Isles,  the  Teutonic  peoples  who  flooded  westward 
on  the  track  of  the  retreating  Kelts,  the  Slavs  of  central  and 
eastern  Europe  were  all  reached  in  turn.  From  the  begin- 
nings, when  Ulfilas  preached  to  the  Goths  in  the  region 
north  of  Constantinople  and  Martin  of  Tours  was  doing 
his  apostolic  work  in  France  in  the  fourth  century,  until 
the  Lithuanians  finally  accepted  the  faith  in  the  fifteenth 
is  a  period  of  more  than  a  thousand  years.  The  really  in- 
tensive work  was  accomplished,  however,  in  about  half  that 
time,  from  Gregory  I,  the  "Great"  (Pope  590-604),  to 
Gregory  VII,  Hildebrand  (1073-1085).  During  that  period 
the  northern  countries  almost  swarmed  with  monks.  With 
a  zeal  which  has  never  been  surpassed  these  ardent  servants 
of  the  church  went  to  every  tribe,  and  at  the  end  of  their 
labors  there  were  none  left  who  did  not  acknowledge  Jesus 
as  Lord  and  count  themselves  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  The  annals  of  Christian  devotion  would  be  lacking 
some  of  the  most  illustrious  examples  were  it  not  for  Pat- 
rick of  Ireland,  Columba  of  lona,  Augustine  of  Kent,  Boni- 
face of  Thuringia,  Anskar  of  the  far  frozen  north,  and  many 
scores  of  others,  who  in  the  name  of  Christ  counted  not  their 
lives  dear  unto  themselves,  but  in  utter  self-abandonment 
went  to  the  most  inaccessible  islands  and  the  most  hostile 
peoples  to  tell  them  the  message  which  had  taken  possession 
of  their  own  souls.  They  have  left  a  priceless  heritage  of 
courage  and  devotion  which  no  criticism  of  their  methods 
can  dim. 

The  net  result  of  their  labors  was  that  northern  Europe 
was  completely  won  to  the  church  and  to  at  least  nominal 


CHRISTIANITY  325 

acceptance  of  its  Christ.  Unfortunately,  it  was  so  frequently 
only  a  nominal  acceptance  that  vital  religion  seems  never  to 
have  come  to  its  own  among  large  parts  of  the  population. 
With  little  training  before  baptism  and  with  no  adequate 
instruction  in  the  years  which  followed,  the  people  remained 
in  ignorance  of  the  true  meaning  of  Christianity.  Pagan 
practices  were  not  uprooted  and  attendance  at  the  services 
and  the  performance  of  the  prescribed  rites  and  ceremonies 
meant  little  more  to  a  vast  majority  than  the  practices  they 
had  left  behind,  except  that  they  were  grander  and  more 
impressive  and  carried  with  them  the  surer  promise  of  favor 
with  God  and  of  the  life  beyond.  With  ignorance  almost 
unchecked  and  loose  living  tardily  rebuked,  especially  among 
the  powerful,  the  conditions  left  much  to  be  desired.  The 
church  was  strong,  so  strong  that  the  people  were  held  in 
terror  of  the  penalties  which  it  could  inflict,  and  even  em- 
perors were  cowed  into  submission.  The  Middle  Ages  pre- 
sent the  strange  contrast  of  saintly  devotion  unsurpassed  and 
of  churchly  power  misused  to  bind  the  lives  of  men  in  a 
grip  which  must  be  broken  before  any  progress  could  be 
made. 

When  the  great  liberation  came  in  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries  a  new  expansion  might  well  be  looked  for. 
A  new  world  had  been  laid  before  the  wondering  gaze  of 
Europe  by  the  discovery  of  the  Americas  and  by  the  finding 
of  a  sea  route  to  India  and  the  East.  For  hundreds  of  years, 
particularly  since  the  crusades,  Islam  had  stood  as  a  barrier 
between  West  and  East.  Europe  knew  little  of  the  teeming 
populations  beyond  and  had  strange  ideas  of  their  condi- 
tion. But  now  the  veil  of  mystery  was  to  be  taken  down 
and  new  empires  were  to  be  founded  by  the  youthful  Euro- 
pean nations  in  far  off  seas.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
at  once  took  advantage  of  the  splendid  opportunity  and  sent 
its  missionaries  east  and  west.  The  daring  Jesuits,  followed 
by  other  orders,  went  through  incredible  hardships  to  carry 
their  message  to  Canada,  South  America,  and  to  India, 


326  THE   RELIGIONS    OF   MANKIND 

China,  and  Japan.  Strange  to  say,  Protestantism  did  not 
respond.  Her  task  was  an  arduous  one,  to  conserve  the 
results  of  the  upheaval  in  Europe,  but,  even  more  than  that, 
her  mind  was  occupied  with  the  making  of  creeds,  and  was 
more  or  less  blinded  by  impossible  methods  of  interpreta- 
tion, which  led  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  no  longer 
a  call  to  the  church  to  undertake  a  mission  to  the  heathen. 
That  had  been  done  by  the  original  apostles,  and  if  the  na- 
tions were  not  now  Christian  that  was  their  own  fault ! 

But  the  Pietistic  movement  in  Germany  and  the  Evangeli- 
cal Revival  in  England  stirred  the  hearts  of  men  and  led  to 
earnest  questioning  concerning  the  non-Christian  world  and 
the  conviction  that  the  Gospel  must  be  carried  wherever  it 
was  not  known.  At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  under 
the  leadership  of  William  Carey  and  his  associates,  action 
was  taken,  first  by  the  Baptists,  then  by  other  bodies  both 
within  and  outside  the  Established  Church,  until  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic  and  on  the  Continent  of  Europe  Prot- 
estantism had  taken  seriously  the  task  of  evangelizing  the 
whole  world.  This  has  been  one  of  the  chief  notes  of  church 
life  in  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries.  In  various 
conferences  the  denominations  have  met  to  counsel  and  plan 
their  work  together.  The  culminating  point  was  reached 
before  the  World  War  in  the  World  Missionary  Conference 
held  in  Edinburgh  in  1910.  Here  for  the  first  time  all  Prot- 
estantism was  represented  and  by  union  in  prayer  and  praise 
and  in  loyalty  to  a  common  Lord,  reaffirmed  its  essential 
union  in  faith  and  purpose,  thus  giving  practical  expression 
to  the  growing  desire  that  all  should  be  one.  The  new  con- 
sciousness of  solidarity  as  they  faced  a  common  task  has 
seemed  to  many  to  be  the  harbinger  of  a  new  day,  when  the 
unhappy  divisions  among  God's  people  shall  be  healed  and 
they  shall  veritably  advance  "like  a  mighty  army."  So 
strong  was  the  impression  made  by  this  gathering  that 
Professor  A.  E.  Garvie  has  made  bold  to  declare  that  the 
Edinburgh  Conference  may  prove  to  be  of  greater  signifi- 


CHRISTIANITY  327 

cance  to  the  highest  interests  of  the  church  than  the  Council 
of  Nicea! 

And  after  this  came  the  World  War,  which  tore  Christen- 
dom in  two  and  set  brother  against  brother  along  many 
fronts.  It  revealed  the  awful  fact  that  the  Gospel  had  not 
penetrated  deeply  enough  beneath  the  surface  to  make  such 
a  tragedy  impossible,  that  while  the  message  of  peace  had 
been  proved  the  very  voice  of  God  in  individual  hearts  and 
in  countless  churches  and  denominations,  it  had  never  been 
seriously  applied  to  society  at  large  and  among  the  na- 
tions. The  question  was  frequently  broached  whether  Chris- 
tianity had  been  found  wanting,  to  receive  the  reply  that  it 
had  never  been  tried  at  just  the  point  where  the  selfish  ambi- 
tions of  nations  were  likely  to  clash.  The  smug  satisfaction 
which  possessed  the  souls  of  many  good  people,  who  relied 
on  a  civilization  which  had  been  made  more  or  less  by  Chris- 
tianity, is  gone.  A  civilization  which  is  not  genuinely  actu- 
ated by  the  spirit  of  Jesus  is  a  poor  reed  on  which  to  lean. 
To  have  learned  this  is  exceedingly  valuable,  and  places 
before  the  Christian  church  a  task  of  the  first  magnitude. 
A  reconstruction,  which  involves  every  feature  of  human 
life  and  every  relation  in  which  men  find  themselves,  is  the 
work  which  lies  ahead,  and  so  closely  are  the  peoples  related 
and  interrelated  to-day  that  it  involves  an  approach  which 
shall  touch  every  section  of  the  world  simultaneously.  Noth- 
ing like  it  has  ever  been  faced  before  by  the  Christian  church. 
Such  a  gospel  must  be  preached  as  shall  transform  individ- 
ual lives,  make  the  denominations  like  cooperating  regiments 
in  the  same  army,  bring  peace  and  good  will  in  society  on  the 
basis  of  justice  and  mutual  respect,  break  down  the  artificial 
barriers  which  stand  in  the  way  of  true  democracy,  and 
relate  the  nations  so  that  as  brothers  in  one  family  they 
shall  exist  each  in  its  own  right  in  peace  and  prosperity  and 
each  looking  out  for  the  good  of  all  the  others,  not  content 
until  all  shall  share  its  security  and  plenty.  Such  a  vision 
may  be  far  from  realization,  yet  nothing  less  is  worthy  of  our 


THE   RELIGIONS   OF   MANKIND 

Lord,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  who  came  to  establish  his  king- 
dom to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  make  righteousness  pre- 
vail as  far  as  men  are  found. 

THE  GROUND  OF  ITS  APPEAL 

As  the  world  stands  trembling  in  the  uncertainty  and 
dismay  of  the  aftermath  of  the  war,  what  has  Christianity  to 
offer  ?  Has  it  a  unique  message,  which  other  religions  do  not 
know?  Is  there  that  in  it  which  will  win  the  confidence  of 
great  world  leaders,  who  are  turning  desperately  this  way 
and  that  to  find  a  cure  for  the  world's  ills?  Such  are  the 
questions  being  asked  to-day — has  Christianity  a  sufficient 
answer?  It  is  taken  for  granted  that  nothing  but  religion 
is  adequate  to  the  task.  What  has  shaken  man  to  the  depths 
of  his  nature  can  never  be  touched  by  any  cure  which  does 
not  reach  to  the  very  center  of  life  and  the  springs  of  motive 
and  desire.  Only  religion  can  do  this,  dealing,  as  it  does, 
with  the  ultimate  facts  of  God  and  sin  and  salvation  and  the 
hereafter.  Only  religion  can  give  man  a  satisfying  philoso- 
phy of  life,  and,  by  pointing  beyond  the  world  while  he  is 
still  in  the  world,  reveal  the  presence  of  other  factors  with- 
out which  much  that  he  experiences  would  be  utterly 
inexplicable. 

In  its  approach  to  the  present-day  world  the  Christian 
religion  has  a  personal  note,  which  it  would  declare  in  the 
ear  of  every  man  and  woman.  There  is  a  good  God  whom 
we  may  know  by  coming  into  fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ 
our  Saviour  and  Lord.  He  would  have  every  man  come  to 
him  by  a  path  all  may  travel — that  of  trust.  And  when  the 
horror  of  sin  falls  like  a  pall  over  the  heart,  the  tender  word 
of  forgiveness  may  be  spoken  which  will  bring  joy  and 
peace.  And  in  place  of  palsied  impotence  in  the  presence 
of  temptation  may  come  the  assurance  that  a  new  dynamic 
has  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of  men  which  will  make  them 
"more  than  conquerors."  And  lest  the  danger  should  arise 
that  sin  may  be  thought  of  too  lightly  there  is  the  cross  of 


CHRISTIANITY  329 

Christ,  revealing  the  awful  agony  in  the  heart  of  God  be- 
cause of  human  sin  and  at  the  same  time  the  eager  desire  to 
deal  with  it  adequately  irrespective  of  the  suffering  involved. 

There  is  the  social  note  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  which 
the  world  must  hear.  It  is  not  enough  that  a  man  should  be 
saved  alone,  even  if  that  were  possible.  He  is  bound  to  his 
fellows  by  bonds  so  intricate  and  so  enduring  that,  unless  his 
religion  reaches  out  and  seeks  to  make  all  these  lateral  rela- 
tionships an  expression  of  the  same  spirit  which  fills  his 
breast,  the  very  meaning  of  what  he  has  received  is  largely 
lost.  Is  he  a  Christian  ?  Then  his  family  must  be  Christian. 
And  by  the  same  token  the  business  in  which  he  is  engaged, 
the  social  relationships  which  he  enjoys,  the  political  party 
to  which  he  belongs,  and  the  state  to  which  he  owes  alle- 
giance are  bound  to  feel  the  steady  pressure  of  his  influence 
as  he  seeks  to  make  them  the  vehicle  of  the  moral  enthusi- 
asms and  spiritual  aspirations  which  are  pulsing  in  his  own 
life.  A  brotherhood  of  men  in  which  the  principles  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  shall  prevail  is  an  ideal  far  away  it 
may  be,  but  it  is  an  essential  note  in  that  earthly  kingdom 
which  Jesus  Christ  came  to  found. 

And,  lastly,  there  is  the  universal  note,  universal  because 
Christianity  is  personal  and  social.  Since  our  religion  is 
able  to  speak  the  word  of  peace  to  the  individual  man  and 
woman,  it  becomes  our  duty  to  convey  it  to  every  man  and 
woman,  for  we  are  all  fundamentally  alike  in  our  common 
humanity.  And  since  our  religion  is  the  only  unbreakable 
bond  of  brotherhood  it  can  only  be  true  to  its  essential  nature 
by  drawing  all  within  its  sphere,  until  not  one  man  is  left 
who  has  not  felt  the  inner  satisfaction  of  being  a  member 
of  a  world- wide  fraternity,  which  affects  him  at  every  point 
of  contact  with  his  fellow  men.  Other  religions  make  the 
claim  to  be  universal;  the  Christian  claim  is  unique  in  this, 
that  all  it  makes  bold  to  proclaim  is  epitomized  in  the  person 
of  its  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  the  perfect 
man,  the  perfect  example,  the  perfect  image  of  the  in- 


330  THE  RELIGIONS  OF  MANKIND 

visible  God  our  Father,  and  with  all  that  he  is  the  living 
Saviour  and  Master  who  through  his  Spirit  is  in  actual  con- 
tact with  men.  A  present  living  experience  of  the  power  of 
Jesus  Christ,  manifested  many  times  over  in  every  country 
of  the  world,  is  the  ground  of  our  confidence  that  in  him, 
and  in  him  alone,  can  the  world  and  all  the  men  and  women 
in  it  be  saved. 

.SUGGESTIONS  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 

H.  Franklin  Rail,  The  Life  of  Jesus  (New  York,  1917).    A  widely 

used  handbook. 
Peake's  Commentary  on  the  Bible   (New  York,   1920),  by  many 

writers,  edited  by  Professor  A.  S.  Peake.    The  best  single  volume 

from  which  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  Christian  Scriptures. 
Williston  Walker,  A  History  of  the  Christian  Church  (New  York, 

1918).    The  most  successful  attempt  to  condense  the  history  into 

one  volume. 
William  Newton  Clarke,  An  Outline  of  Christian  Theology  (New 

York,  first  edit,  1894).   A  very  influential  statement  of  Christian 

doctrine. 
Alfred  E.  Garvie,  A  Handbook  of  Christian  Apologetics  (New  York, 

1913).  A  compact  presentation  of  the  grounds  of  the  claims  of 

Christianity. 
The  Missionary  Outlook  in  the  Light  of  the  War  (New  York,  1920), 

edited  by  the  Committee  on  the  War  and  the  Religious  Outlook. 
George  Foot  Moore,  History  of  Religions,  Vol.  II,  Chaps.  V-XV. 


INDEX 


Abbasid  Caliphs,  296 
Abdallah,  277 
Abeona,  122 
Abraham,  257,  272,  291 
Abrahams,    I.,    on    Maimonides, 

270;  on  Messiah,  273!. 
Absolute,  in  India,  161,  163 
Abu  Bakr,  281,  283,  296 
Abu  Talib,  277,  282 
Abydos,  88 
Abyssinia,  281 
Achaemenides,  144 
Acts,  Book  of,  312,  321 
Adad,  99 
Adam,  291 
Adeona,  122 
Adi-Buddha,  201 
Adoption,  in  China,  217 
Aerolites,  worshiped,  55 
^Eschylus,  117 
Afghanistan,  298 
Africa,  47;  Islam  in,  299 
Agni,  155 

Agreement  (Ijma),  in  Islam,  288 
Ahura  Mazda  (Mazdah),  141, 142, 

143,  145,  146,  147 
Amu,  47 
Akkadians,  97 
Al-Amin,  277 
Al-Ashari,  293 
Alexander  the  Great,  in  Egypt,  84, 

90;  in  India,  197 
Alexandria,  315 
Al-Ghazzali,  294! 
Algonquin  family  of  Indians,  52 
AH,  278,  281,  296,  300,  301 
Allah,  276,  281,  285,  287,  289,  292; 

Attributes  of,  292f.;  power  of, 

293;  not  a  father,  294 
Allenby,  General,  captures  Jeru- 
salem, 265 

All-Father,  in  animistic  religion, 6 1 
Almsgiving,  in  Islam,  290 
Altruism,  of  the  Buddha,  185!;  of 

Mahayana,  202 
Amaterasu-o-mi-Kami,  237,  238, 

240 


Amenophis  IV  (Amen-hotep),  89, 

90 

Ameretat,  142 
America,  discovery  of,  325 
Ames,  E.  S.,  definition  of  religion, 

23 

Amesha  Spenta,  141!,  143,  145 
Amitabha  (Amida),  207,  232,  241, 

244,  245,  246 
Amon,  85,  88,  89,  90 
Amon-Re,  87,  89 
Amorites,  97,  257 
Amos,  264 
Anahita,  147 

Analogy,  principle  of,  31 ;  in  ani- 
mistic religion,  63;  in  objects  of 

sacrifice,  71 

Analogy  (Qias),  in  Islam,  288 
Ananda,  187 
Ancestor   worship,    as   origin   of 

religion,  33;  among  Animists,  57; 

in  Greece,  108;  in  China,  2i5f.; 

in  Japan,  237;  among  Semites, 

260 

Angels,  in  Islam,  291 
Anglo-Saxons,  136 
Angra  Mainyu   (Ahriman),    142, 

145 

Animal-worship,  in  Egypt,  8sf . ;  in 
Babylonia,  101 

Animism,  definition  of,  31;  in 
Babylonia,  98;  in  Greece,  107; 
in  Rome,  122;  among  Indo- 
Europeans,  138 ;  in  Korea,  2ogf . ; 
in  China,  214!;  in  lands  of 
Southern  Buddhism,  2O4f. 

Animistic  peoples,  numbers  and 
location,  46-48 

Animistic  religion,  name  of,  45; 
why  studied,  46;  as  traditional, 
49 ;  as  natural,  495. ;  as  spontane- 
ous, 50 

Annam,  204 

Anskar,  324 

Anthropomorphism,  in  Greece, 
no;  in  Persia,  141 

Anu,  99 


331 


332 


INDEX 


Aphrodite,  in,  128 

Apis,  86 

Apollo,  in 

Arabia,  82,  296,  301;  tribes  of, 

257;  cradle  of  Semitic  race,  258; 

religion  in,  before  Islam,  276, 

283 

Arabian  Nights,  291 
Arabic,  language  of  Koran,  286 
Arabs,  97 ;  in  ascendency  in  Islam, 

296 

Arafat,  Mount,  290 
Aramaeans,  257 
Aramaiti,|i42 
Aranyakas,  160 
Architecture,  in  Egypt,  91 
Ares,  in,  128 
Arhat    (Arahat,    Arahant),    192, 

194,  201,  202 

Aristotle,  H7f.,  270 

Arius,  316 

Ark  of  the  Covenant,  262,  267 

Armenian  Church,  297 

Armenians,  136 

Arnold,    Matthew,    definition   of 

religion,  21 
Arpachshad,  257 
Art,  Egyptian,  84 
Artemis,  in,  128 
Arval  brothers,  124 
Arya  Samaj,  178 
Aryans,  136,  180; in  India,  153 
Asceticism,  in  India,  160;  of  the 
.    Buddha,     182;     in     Christian 

Church,  3l4f. 
Asha,  141 
Ashur,  100 

Asia  Minor,  128, 130, 132, 136,  298 
Asoka,  197 
Asshur,  97 

Assurbanipal,  98,  101 
Assyrian  armies,  100;  Empire,  98, 

100 

Assyrians,  257 
Astrology,  in  Babylonia,  102;  in 

Rome,  132 
Atargatis,  132 
Athanasius,  316 
Atharvaveda,  158 
Athena,  in,  128 
Athens,  114 
Atman,  161 
Aton,  89f. 
Attains,  130 


Attis,  130,  131 

Augurs,  124 

Augustine,  317,  324 

Augustus  Csesar,  129 

Austerities,  in  India,  158 

Australia,  48 

Avalokitesvara   (Avalokita,   Pad- 

mapani),  206,  209,  246,  247 
Avatars,  of  Vishnu,  171 
Avesta,  141,  146,  147,  149 


Ba,  93 

Babylon,  97,  98,  99,  101 

Babylonian  captivity,  264,  265  » 

Bagdad,  293,  296,  297 

Bain,  Alexander,  on  instinct,  28 

Bali,  204 

Baluchistan,  298 

Bantu  tribes,  47,  70 

Baptists,  326 

Barbarian  invasions,  136 

Barth,  A.,  on  Varuna,   154;  on 

avatars,  171 
Bel,  100 

Benares,  180,  183,  185 
Bengal,  180 

Besant,  Mrs.  Annie,  177 
Bethlehem,  304 

Bhabha,  H.  T.,  on  Parsi  belief,  151 
Bhakti,  172 
Bhikshus,  196 
Bhils,  47 
Bible,  on  origin  of  religion,  29; 

in  Koran,  291 ;  in  Protestantism, 

3i8 

Biwa,  lake,  242 
Blood,  in  sacrifice,  71 
Bodhidharma,  208,  231 
Bodhisattva,  2Oif.;  in  Tibet,  206; 

in  Japan,  240,  247 
Boloki  tribe,  69 
Bombay,  148 
Boniface,  324 
Book  of  the  Dead,  92 
Books,  doctrine  of  the,  in  Islam, 

291 

Borneo,  47 

Bo-tree,  184,  185,  186, 190 
Brahma,  creator,  170 
Brahman,  absolute,  161,  162,  163, 

170 

Brahmanas,  159 
Brahmins,  priests,  158,  i67f. 


INDEX 


333 


Brahmo  Samaj,  I77f. 

Bridge  of  the  Separator,  143 

Buddha,  171 ;  significance  of  title, 
180, 184;  character  of,  187;  esti- 
mation of  by  his  disciples,  199 

Buddhas  of  Contemplation  (Dhy- 
ani  Buddhas),  201,  246 

Buddhism,  158;  disappearance  in 
India,  198;  transformations  in, 
21 1 ;  in  China,  230*?.;  monks 
and  nuns  in,  23of.,  233;  sects, 
231;  contrasted  with  other  re- 
ligions, 233 

Burma,  Buddhism  in,  200,  204, 
205 

Bushido,  252 


Calcutta,  177 

Caliphs,  281,  302;  orthodox,  295, 

296 

Cambodia,  204 
Canaan,  Sons  of,  257 
Canaanites,  97,  257,  262 
Canaanitish  worship,  263 
Canada,  325 
Capitoline  Hill,  126 
Carey,  William,  326 
Caro,  Joseph,  269 
Carter,  J.  B.,  on  Etruscan  influ- 

ence, 125;  on  Sibylline  books, 

126 
Casartelli,  L.  C.,  on  Zoroaster's 

date,  140 
Caspian  Sea,  135 
Caste,   defined,    i64f.;  origin  of, 

167;  good  and  evil  in,  168;  in 

Brahmo  Samaj,  I77f. 
Cave,  Sidney,  on  Siva  worship,  173 
Celibacy,  in  early  church,  31  if. 
Celsus,  on  Egyptian  religion,  86f. 
Central  Asia,  Islam  in,  298 
Ceres,  127 
Ceylon,  Buddhism  in,   198,  200, 

204,  205 
Chaldea,  98 
Chaldeans,  257 
Chang  Tao-ling,  229 
Ch'an  tsung,  school  of  Buddhism, 


Chao  dynasty,  219,  227 
Child  marriage,  in  India,  166 
China,  144,  296,  298,  326;  ances- 
tor worship  in,  57  ;  conservatism 


of,  214;  contrasted  with  Egypt 
and  Mesopotamia,  80;  Bud- 
dhism in,  206,  207,  208,  209 

Chin  dynasty,  219 

Christianity,  appeal  of,  328!;  in 
India,  179;  in  Arabia,  278; 
facing  intellectual  crisis,  320; 
uniqueness  of,  15;  as  an  Orien- 
tal cult,  133 

Chthonian  gods,  112 

Church,  Roman  doctrine  of,  3i7f.; 
Protestant  doctrine  of,  318 

Circumcision,  in  early  church,  312 

City  states,  in  Babylonia,  98 

Clan  organization,  among  Sem- 
ites, 259;  worship,  259! 

Clarke,  W.  N.,  definition  of  re- 
ligion, 26 

Classification  of  religions,  43 

Clennell,  W.  J.,  on  Chinese  re- 
ligion, 233 

Clodd,  Edward,  on  tree-worship, 

55 

Cochin-China,  204 

Codes,  Jewish,  268f. 

Codrington,  R.  H.,  on  mana,  52f. 

Coe,  G.  A.,  definition  of  religion, 
23f . ;  on  religious  nature  of  man, 
28 

Columba,  324 

Comte,  on  fetishism,  58 

Confucius,  140;  contrasted  with 
Laocius,  228;  life  and  labors, 
2i9ff.;  teachings,  222f.;  esti- 
mate of  human  nature,  224 ;  so- 
cial and  political  reformer,  225f . ; 
estimate  of,  227 

Confucianism,  as  a  religion,  226f., 
233;  in  Japan,  25off. 

Consorts  of  deities,  in  Babylonia, 
100 

Constantine,  322,  323 

Constantinople,  324;  fall  of,  298 

Conversions,  to  Islam,  297 

Coptic  Church,  297 

Corinth,  321 

Cornelius,  312 

Council,  of  Jerusalem,  3i2f.;  Bud- 
dhist, 198 

Covenant,  at  Sinai,  262,  267 

Cow,  sacred  among  Aryans,  139 

Creation,  in  Bible  and  Babylonian 
myths,  101 

Creed,  of  Islam,  289 


334 


INDEX 


Crete,  106 

Crusades,  298,  325 

Cumae,  126 

Cuneiform  script,  98 

Cunina,  122 

Cybele,  the  Great  Mother  of  the 

Gods,  55,  130 
Cyrus,  98,  104 


Dainichi,  243 

Dakhmas,  146,  150 

Dalai  Lama,  206 

Damascus,  296 

Danube,  121 

Darwish  orders,  295 

Dastur,  149 

David,  263 

Davids,  T.  W.  Rhys,  on  death  of 
the  Buddha,  187;  on  Dialogues, 
1 88;  on  Pali  literature,  188;  on 
Buddhist  order,  195;  on  extent 
of  acceptance  of  the  Buddha's 
teaching,  200 

Dayananda  Sarasvati,  178 

Day  of  Judgment,  in  Islam,  280, 
281 

Dead,  worship  of,  among  animists, 

57 

Dea  Syria,  132 

Death,  in  animistic  religion,  57 
Definition  of  religion,  nature  of, 

I7f. 
DeGroot,  J.  J.  M.,  on  ancestor 

worship  in  China,  217 
Deists,  English,  on  religion,  igf.; 

on  origin  of  religion,  29! 
Delhi,  298 

Deluge  Story,  in  Babylon,  101 
Demeter,  in  Greece,  112,  114,  115; 

in  Rome,  127 

Demon- worship,  in  India,  174 
Departmental     deities,     42;     in 

Greece,  108 
Description,  as  method  of  study, 

12 

Desire,  the  root  of  evil  in  Bud- 
dhism, 185,  194 

Development  of  religion,  37; 
causes  of,  38!!. 

Devi,  173 

Dharmakaya,  201,  203 

Dhyani  Buddhas,  201,  243,  246 

Dialogues  of  the  Buddha,  188 


Diana  of  the  Ephesians,  55,  128 

Difference,  doctrine  of,  in  Islam, 
294 

Dionysus,  in  Greece,  113,  114;  in 
Rome,  127 

Diverra,  122 

Divination,  in  Babylonia,  ioif.;  in 
Rome,  124 

Dravidians,  159,  167 

Dreams,  among  animistic  peo- 
ples, 52;  in  Babylonia,  103 

Driver,   Canon,   on  Arpachshad, 

257 

Dualism,  in  Zoroastrianism,  I42f. 
Durga,  173 
Durkheim,   Emile,   on   origin   of 

religion,  33f. 
Dutch  East  Indies,  Islam  in,  204 


Ea,  99,  100 

Eastern  Roman  Empire,  297 

Eber,  children  of,  257 

Economic  necessity,  and  origin  of 
Egyptian  civilization,  82;  of 
Babylonian  civilization,  96 

Edfu,  85 

Edkins,  Joseph,  on  Chinese  Bud- 
dhist sects,  231 

Edomites,  257 

Edula,  122 

Egypt,  as  gift  of  Nile,  81;  Lower 
and  Upper,  83;  contrasted  with 
Mesopotamia,  98;  exodus  from, 
261;  Islam  in,  295,  297 

Elamites,  257 

Eleusinian  Mysteries,  112,  H4f., 
116 

Elijah,  263f. 

Elkab,  85 

Emanations,  314 

Emperor- worship,  in  Rome,  129!, 
in  Japan,  237 

Enlil,  99,  100 

Enneads,  in  Egypt,  88 

Ephesus,  321 

Epic  poems,  in  Greece,  no;  in 
India,  171 

Epicureanism,  u8f. 

Eridu,  97,  99,  100 

Eskimos,  47 

Eternal  Being,  in  Mahayana,  201 

Ethics,  in  Babylonia,  104;  in 
Zoroastrianism,  143;  in  early 


INDEX 


335 


Buddhism,    ig6f.;    in    Japan, 


Etruscans,  I2£ 

Euphrates,  River,  80,  97;  Valley, 

T,  9<?'  28 
Euripides,  117 

Evangelical  Revival,  319,  326 
Evangelist  of  the  Exile,  264 
Evolution,  and  origin  of  religion, 

30 

Exodus,  261 

Exorcism,  in  animistic  religion,  74; 

in  China,  214! 
Exogamy,  66 
Ezra,  272 


Fairbanks,  Arthur,  on  Greek  gods, 

112 

Fair-mindedness,  in  study  of  re- 
ligion, 13 

Farquhar,  J.  N.,  on  Aryans  in 
India,  i53f.;  on  Brahman,  161; 
on  Indian  conservatism,  175;  on 
religious  reform,  I78f. 

Fasting,  in  Islam,  290 

Fatalism,  in  Indo-European  re- 
ligion, 138;  in  Islam,  292 

Fatima,  278,  300 

Fear,  as  motive  in  religion,  29;  in 
animistic  religion,  6gf. 

Fellahin,  in  Egypt,  82 

Festivals,  in  Greece,  108;  in 
Rome,  124 

Fetishism,  defined,  58;  descrip- 
tion of  fetish,  59f.;  origin  of, 
6of . ;  related  to  magic,  61 

Fetters,  Ten,  in  Buddhism,  191 

Feudalism,  in  China,  2i9f.;  in 
Japan,  252 

Filial  piety,  in  China,  2i6f.;  in 
Japan,  250 

Fire,  among  Aryans,  139;  as  sym- 
bol of  Ahura  Mazda,  146;  in 
Parsi  temples,  149 

Five  Relations,  of  Confucius,  225; 
in  Japan,  250 

Flamens,  124 

Flint,  Robert,  on  religion  as  uni- 
versal, 26 

Foochow,  233 

Fortune-tellers,  modern,  104 

France,  302,  324 

Francke,  319 


Fravashis,  147 

Frazer,  J.  G.,  on  exogamy,  66; 
on  tabu,  67f.;  on  magic  and  re- 
ligion, 77f. 

Freethinkers,  in  Islam,  293 
French  Revolution,  and  the  Jews, 

266 

Fung-Shui,  wind  and  water,  216 
Future-Bodhisattva,  202,  203 


Gabars,  148 

Gabriel,  287 

Gairdner,  W.  H.  T.,  on  spread*  of 
Islam,  296 

Galilee,  304 

Galloway,  George,  on  develop- 
ment of  religion,  39;  on  ani- 
mistic religion,  64 

Ganesa,  173 

Ganges  Valley,  153,  180 

Garvie,  A.  E.,  on  World  Mission- 
ary Conference,  326f. 

Gathas,  141 

Gautama  the  Buddha,  169;  family 
name,  180;  account  of  life, 
iSoff.;  position  of  in  later 
period,  248 

Gemara,  268 

Genesis,  book  of,  71,  101,  257 

Genii,  see  Jinn 

Genius,  123,  130 

Gentiles,  312;  intermarriage  with, 
272,  274 

Genzim,  Mount,  321 

Germany,  and  the  Holy  War,  291 

Gonds,  47 

Gibbon,  Edward,  on  Islamic  creed, 
289 

Gilgamesh,  101 

Gnosticism,  314 

God,  doctrine  of,  in  Islam,  2925. 

Goldziher,  I.,  on  Shiites,  300!.;  on 
Sunnis,  301 

Gospel  of  Jesus,  in  Islam,  291 

Gospels,  308,  313 

Goths,  324 

Grace,   Augustine's   doctrine   of, 

317 

Graeco-Roman  religion,  128 
Grandmaison,  L.  de,  definition  of 

religion,  25 
Great  Britain,  302 
Great  Kings  of  Persia,  144 


336 


INDEX 


Great  Mother  of  the  Gods,  see 

Cybele 

Great  Wall  of  China,  220 
Greek  colonies,  126 
Greek  civilization,  origin  of,  lo6f. 
Greek  influence,  in  Egypt,  90,  in 

Rome,  I25f. 
Greek   thought,   in   Christianity, 

315 

Greek  War  of  Independence,  298 
Gregory  I,  324 

Gregory  VII  (Hildebrand),  324 
Gupta  dynasty,  170 


Hackmann,  H.,  on  Korean  Bud- 
dhism, 209 

Haddon,  A.  C.,  on  magic,  77 

Hades,  114,  115 

Haggada,  268 

Halacha,  268 

Ham,  257 

Hamitic  tribes,  in  Egypt,  82 

Hammurabi,  97,  99;  code  of,  104 

Hanifs,  278 

Hannibal,  55,  128 

Haoma  (Soma),  139,  147 

Harnack,  Adolph,  on  book  of 
Acts,  321 

Harran,  99 

Hartland,  E.  S.,  on  magic  and 
religion,  78 

Hathor,  87 

Haurvatat,  142 

Heaven,  worshiped  in  China,  218 

Heavenly  Ones,  I37f. 

Hebrews,  257,  261 

Hegel,  definition  of  religion,  20 

Hegira,  283 

Hejaz,  302 

Hekt,  87 

Heliopolis,  priests  of,  83,  87,  88,  89 

Hepatoscopy,  divination  by 
sheep's  fiver,  102 

Hephaistos,  in 

Hera,  128 

Heracleitus,  on  impermanence, 
189 

Herbert  of  Cherbury,  on  religion, 

19 

Hermes,  in,  128 
Hermopolis,  86 

Herodotus,  81;  on  embalming  in 
Egypt,  92 


Hiezan,  242,  243,  245 

Hillel,  273 

Himalayan  states,  Buddhism  in, 

206 
Hinayana,  denned,  and  described, 

I99f.,  204 
Hinduism,  modified  by  Buddhism, 

i69f. 

Hippo,  317 
Hira,  Mount,  279 
Historical  method,  12 
Hittites,  136 

Hobbes,  Thomas,  on  religion,  19 
Hoffding,    Harald,    definition    of 

religion,  23 
Holland,  302 
Holy  Spirit,  316 
Holy  War,  in  Islam,  291 
Homer,  no 
Honen,  Shonin,  244 
Horus,  88,  95,  132 
Houris,  294 
Human  sacrifice,  73 
Hurgronje,  Snouck,  on  Holy  War, 

291 


Ideas,  of  Plato,  118 

Ihram,  290 

Ijma  (agreement),  288,  289 

Ikhnaton,  90 

Iliad,  no 

Imam,  301 

Imhotep,  88 

Immortality,  in  Egypt,  9  iff.;  in 

Babylonia,  101,  104;  in  Greece, 

1141.;  among  Semites,  260 
Imperial  House,  of  Japan,  251 
Impermanence,    doctrine    of    in 

Buddhism,  i88f. 
Incantation  rituals,  in  Babylonia, 

103 
Incarnations,    in    Hinduism,    see 

avatars 
India,  107, 136,  137,  325;  Islam  in, 

298 

Indians,  American,  47 
Indo-Europeans,  107,  I35ff. 
Indra,  I55f-,  i?i 
Initiation  rites,  among  animists, 

661. 

Injil  (gospel),  291 
Instinct,  and  religion,  28 
lona,  324 


INDEX 


337 


Ireland,  136,  324 

Iroquoian  family,  of  Indians,  52 

Isaac,  sacrifice  of,  71 

Isaiah,  261,  264,  272 

Ise,  240 

Ishmaelites,  257 

Ishtar,  99,  100 

Isis,  88,  91,  95,  131,  132 

Islam,  effect  of,  in  Africa,  300; 
sacred  book  in,  318;  between 
East  and  West,  325;  name  de- 
fined, 276 

Israel,  Northern  Kingdom,  98 

Israelites,  257,  261 

Italic  people,  136 

Italy,  128 

Izanagi,  237 

Izanami,  237 


Jackson,  A.  V.  W.,  on  date  of 

Zoroaster,  140 
Jains,  religion  of,  182 
James,  William,  definition  of  re- 
ligion, 22 

Japan,   Buddhism  in,   206,   210; 
source    of     civilization,     235; 
Jesuits  in,  326 
Japhet,  257 

Jastrow,  Moms,  Jr.,  on  function 
of  priest,  31;  on  gods  of  Baby- 
lonia, 99;  on  omens  in  Baby- 
lonia, 103 

Java,  47;  Buddhism  in,  204;  Islam 
in,  298 

ehovah,  see  Yahweh 
eremiah,  140,  261,  262,  264 
erusalem,  265,  304,  311,  312,  313 
esuit  missions,  325f. 
esus  Christ,  account  of  life  and 
teaching,  3045. ;  resurrection  of, 
311;  and  world  vision,  321;  in 
Koran,  29 if.;  in  early  church, 
3 1 3 ;  in  Christian  theology,  3 15f . 
Jethro,  261 

Jews,  without  a  country,  265; 
persecution  of,  265f.;  of  Me- 
dina, 284 

ihad,  see  Holy  War 
immu  Tenno,  237 
inn,  in  Islam,  291 
odo,  sect,  244! 
ohn  the  Baptist,  304 
ohn,  Gospel  of,  321 


bnah,  272 

brdan,  304 

oseph,  304 

udaism,  and  early  church,  312; 
sacred  book  in,  318;  and  the 
covenant,  262;  Reform  school 
and  conservatives,  27 iff. 

udaizers,  in  early  church,  313 

udea,  304 

udges,  book  of,  262 

ulius  Caesar,  129 

unp,  123,  128 

upiter  Optimus  Maximus,   122, 

126,  128 
Justinian,  code  of,  121 


Ka,  93 

Kaaba,  276,  289,  290 

Kabbala,  270 

Kali,  173 

Kami,  236 

Kami-no-michi,  236 

Kanishka,  198 

Kant,  definition  of  religion,  21 

Kapilavastu,  180,  186 

Karala,  173 

Karma,  in  Hinduism,  159,  160, 
161,  178;  in  Buddhism,  194 

Kasdim,  257 

Kathenotheism,  156 

Kelts,  136,  324 

Kent,  324 

Keshab  Chunder  Sen,  178 

Khadijah,  277,  278,  279,  281,  282, 
284,  285 

Khnum,  86f. 

Khshathra,  141 

Kiang-si,  229 

Kingsley,  Mary,  OB  fetishism,  58 

Kitchen-god,  in  Japan,  236 

Knox,  G.  W.,  on  Shinto,  237;  on 
Buddhist  teaching  in  Japan,  249 

Kobo  Daishi,  240,  243 

Kojiki,  237,  239 

Koraish,  277 

Koran,  279,  280,  286f.;  inspira- 
tion of,  287,  291,  292,  293 

Kore,  127 

Korea,  Buddhism  in,  206, 209;  and 
Japanese  civilization,  235 

Krishna,  17  if.,  174 

Kshattriyas,  167 

Kublai  Khan,  248 


338 


INDEX 


Kushan,  mountain,  233 
Kwanyin,  in  China,  209,  232 
Kwei,  214 
Kyoto,  239 


Lamaism,  in  Tibet,  2o6f . ;  gods  of, 
207;  monasticism  of,  207 

Lamas,  206 

Lamasaries,  207 

Lang,  Andrew,  on  Supreme  Beings 
in  animistic  religion,  6 if. 

Laocius  (Lao-tse),  life,  227;  teach- 
ing, 227f.;  and  Confucius,  228 

Lares,  123 

Larsa,  97,  99 

Last  Day,  in  Islam,  292 

Latins,  127,  136 

Law,  Jewish,  266f. 

Legalism,  Jewish,  267f. 

Lhassa,  207 

Liber,  127 

Libera,  127 

Linga,  172 

Lithuanians,  324 

Little  Orphan  Island,  233 

Liver,  of  sheep,  in  divination,  in 
Babylonia,  102 ;  in  Rome,  124 

Lin  Chi,  sect,  232 

Lloyd,  Arthur,  on  Shinran,  246; 
on  Amida,  247 

Locutius,  122 

Logos,  used  by  Philo  and  John, 

315 

Lolos,  47 

Loyalty,  in  JajDan,  252f. 
Lu,  state  in  China,  22of . 
Lubbock,  John,  on  tribes  without 

religion,  26 
Lucretius,  on  origin  of  religion, 

T  29 
Luperci,  124 

Luther,  Martin,  318 
Lydians,  257 


McCurdy,  J.  F.,  on  Semitic  type, 

McTaggart,  John,  definition  of  re- 
ligion, 21 

Maccabean  revolt,  272 

Macdonald,  D.  B.,  on  Moham- 
med, 280,  285;  on  mysticism, 
295 


Madhyamikas,  nihilists,  203 

Maenads,  115 

Magi,  144,  145,  146 

Magic,  relation  to  mana,  76f.; 
contagious,  77;  mimetic  or 
homeopathic,  77;  in  Egypt,  94; 
in  India,  158;  in  Indo-European 
religion,  138;  in  Tibet,  2071. 

Mahabarata,  171 

Mahavira,  founder  of  Jain  re- 
ligion, 182 

Mahayana,  defined,  199;  in  Dutch 
East  Indies,  204;  in  China, 
Korea,  and  Japan,  206;  de- 
velopment in  Japan,  242f. 

Mahdi,  the  guide,  301 

Maimonides,  code  of,  268f.;  be- 
liefs of,  270 

Maitriya  Buddha,  the  coming  one, 
200 

Mana,  52;  and  tabu,  68;  and 
magic,  76f. 

Manchus,  in  China,  220 

Manes,  123 

Manetho,  on  Egyptian  history,  84 

Manitu,  52 

Manu,  Institutes  of,  167 

Mara,  184 

Marduk,  99,  100,  101 

Marett,  R.  R.,  on  origin  of  re- 
ligion, 32 ;  on  Toda  ritual,  67 ;  on 
tabu,  67 

Marriage,  in  early  church,  3i4f.; 
in  India,  i65f. 

Mars,  122,  128 

Martel,  Charles,  296 

Martin  of  Tours,  324 

Maruts,  156 

Mary,  mother  of  Jesus,  304 

Matter,  as  evil,  314 

Maya,  illusion,  163 

Mecca,  276,  277,  281,  283,  289 

Medes,  98 

Mendelssohn,  Moses,  266,  269 

Medina,  281,  282,  283,  285 

Mediterranean  Sea,  81,  97,  106 

Memphis,  86,  88,  89 

Mencius,  on  filial-piety,  217;  on 
Confucius,  222 

Menes,  84 

Menzies,  Allan,  definition  of  re- 
ligion, 23;  on  fetishism,  58,  6l; 
on  Roman  deities,  122 

Mercury,  128 


INDEX 


339 


Messiah,  Messianic  hope,  273, 311; 

|-  in  early  church,  312;  in  Islam, 
301 ;  in  Judaism,  273f. 

Middle  Ages,  church  in,  324;  Jews 
in,  265 

Middle  Kingdom,  in  Egypt,  87 

Middle  Way,  of  the  Buddha,  183 

Midianites,  257 

Midrash,  268 

Minerva,  128 

Minoan  civilization,  106 

Misery,  see  sorrow 

Mishna,  268 

Missions,  Buddhist,  I97f.;  Is- 
lamic, in  Africa,  299;  Christian, 
in  Middle  Ages,  324^;  modern, 

325*- 

Mithraism,  322 

Mithras  (Mithra,  Mitra),  132, 133, 
139,  141,  147,  154 

Mithreums,  132 

Mobeds,  149 

Modi,  Jivanji,  on  Parsi  idea  of 
salvation,  151 

Mogul  emperors,  298 

Mohammed,  life  and  work,  2775. ; 
as  pathological  case,  280;  sin- 
cerity of,  282,  285;  relations 
with  Jews,  284;  marriages,  284f . ; 
as  reformer,  286 

Mpnasticism,  in  Buddhism,  I95f; 
influence  of,  211;  in  Southern 
Buddhism,  205;  in  Chinese 
Buddhism,  232;  in  Japan,  242ff. 

Monier-Williams,  Monier,  on 
Hinduism,  174 

Monism,  in  India,  i62f. 

Monotheism,  in  animistic  religion, 
6if.;  in  Egypt,  89f.;  in  Persia, 
I4if.;  in  China,  213;  in  Israel, 
264;  in  Judaism,  269,  271;  in 
Islam,  276,  278 

Monsoon,  in  India,  156 

Montu,  88 

Moore,  G.  P.,  on  Egyptian  con- 
servatism, 83;  on  Aton,  89!; 
on  Plato,  118 

Morley,  John,  on  definition  of  re- 
ligion, 1 6,  1 8 

Moses,  261,  291 

Mother-Earth,  64,  108,  112 

Motoori,  239 

Moulton,  J.  H.,  on  Mazdah,  141, 
142,  143;  on  the  magi,  i44f.; 


on  Aryan  gods,  147;  on  Parsi 
worship,  I49f. 

Muezzin,  289 

Miiller,  Max,  definition  of  re- 
ligion, 2of . ;  on  origin  of  religion, 
36;  on  Indian  gods,  156 

Mummies,  91,  92 

Mut,  88 

Mutazilites,  Seceders,  293 

Mycenaean  civilization,  106 

Mysticism,  in  Islam,  294!. 

Mythology,  in  Babylonia,  loof.; 
in  Greece,  in 


Naaman,  259 

Nagarjuna,  I98f. 

Name,  power  of,  74 

Nandi,  I72f. 

Nassau,  R.  H.,  on  fetishism,  58, 
59,  60 

National  stage,  of  religious  de- 
velopment, 4if. 

Nationality,  loss  of  by  Jews,  265; 
in  India,  I75f. 

Nazareth,  304 

Near  East,  297 

Nebuchadrezzar,  98 

Negro  tribes,  47 

Nehemiah,  272 

Nembutsu,  prayer  formula,  244, 

245 

Neoplatonism,  120 
Neopythagoreans,  119 
Nepal,  1 80,  206 
Neptune,  128 
Nestorians,  in  China,  246 
New  Guinea,  48 
New  Kingdom,  in  Egypt,  89 
New  Testament,  312 
New  Zealand,  48 
Nicea,  Council  of,  316,  322,  327 
Nichiren,    founder    of    sect    and 

patriot,  248 
Nigeria,  55 
Nihongi,  237 
Nile  River,   8of.;  as  deity,   85; 

underground,  94 
Nineveh,  98 
Nippur,  97,  ioo 

Nirmanakaya,  magical  body,  203 
Nirvana,  in  Buddhism,  192,  194, 

201,  202,  203 

Noah,  257,  291 


340 


INDEX 


Noble  Eightfold  Path,  190!. 

Noble  Fourfold  Truth,  igof. 

Nobunaga,  243 

Nodotus,  122 

Noldeke,  Theodor,  on  Allah,  276 

Nomes,  in  Egypt,  83,  85 

No-Soul  doctrine,  in  Buddhism, 

I92f.;  in  contact  with  nomads, 

200 
Numina,  of  Roman  deities,  122 


Octavius,  see  Augustus  Caesar 

Odyssey,  no 

Oil,  in  divination,  101 

Ojibway  (Chippewa),  Indians,  65 

Old  Testament,  heritage,  264;  as 

Bible  of  early  church,  313 
Olympus,  no 
Omayyad  Caliphs,  296 
Omar,  281,  296 
Omens,  in  Babylonia,  103 
Orenda,  52 

Oriental  Christian  churches,  297 
Oriental  religions,  in  Rome,  I3iff. 
Origen,  quotes  Celsus,  86 
Orpheus,  115 
Orphic  brotherhoods  and  religion, 

115*. 

Orthodoxy,  in  Hinduism,  164;  em- 
phasis on  after  Reformation,  319 

Osiris,  88,  91,  95f.,  131,  132 

Othman,  296 

Othmanli  (Ottoman)  Turks,  298 

Out-castes,  in  India,  169 


Padmapani,  s«e  Avalokitesvara 
Palestine,  259,  265,  295,  305 
Pali,  language,  187;  literature,  188, 

193 

Palmistry,  102 

Pan-Islamism,  302 

Pantheism,  in  Egypt,  89;  in  In- 
dia, 161;  in  Japan,  243,  248;  of 
Spinoza,  270;  in  Islam,  295 

Paradise,  in  Mahayana,  202;  in 
Islam,  294 

Parliament  of  Religions,  177 

Parsis,  135;  come  to  India,  147; 
number  of,  148;  become  ex- 
clusive, 148;  worship  of,  I49f.; 
differences  between,  I5of. 

Parson  Thwackum,  on  religion,  18 


Passover,  304,  311 

Patrick,  324 

Paul,  3i2f.;  the  imperial-minded, 

321 

Peking,  206 
Penates,  123 
Penitential  Psalms,  in  Babylonia, 

103 

Pentateuch,  291 
Persephone,  in  Greece,  114,  115; 

in  Rome,  127 
Persia,  98,  107,  132,  136,  137,  295, 

30i,  314 
Persian  Gulf,  97 
Pessimism,  in  Egypt,  91 
Peter,  312 
Pharisees,  310 
Philippines,  48 
Philo,  315 
Philosophy,  in  Greece,  n6ff.;  of 

Mahayana,  203 
Phoenicians,  257,  263 
Phrenology,  102 
Phrygians,  136 
Pietistic  Movement,  in  Germany, 

319.  326 

Pilgrimage,  to  Mecca,  290 
Pilgrims,  Chinese  Buddhist,  198 
Pilumnus,  122 
Pindar,  Odes  of,  117 
Pitakas,  Baskets,  early  Buddhist 

literature,  187 
Plato,  117,  118,  119,  120 
Polis,  Greek,  109 
Polygamy,  in  China,  217 
Polynesia,  52 
Pomerium,  125,  127,  128 
Pontifex,  124 
Pontius  Pilate,  311 
Poseidon,    in    Greece,     HI;    in 

Rome,  128 
Prakriti,  163 
Prayer,  in  animistic  religion,  73f.; 

in  Zrproastrianism,    147;  cylin- 
ders in  Tibet,  208;  in  Islam,  289 
Preanimistic  religion,  32 
Precepts,    Eight,    in    Buddhism, 

I96f. 
Priests,  in  animistic  religion,  74f . ; 

in  Babylonia,  99;  in  Greece,  1 16; 

in  Rome,  123;  in  Zoroastrian- 

ism,  149;  in  India,  157 
Primitive  Revelation,  29 
Progressive  Brahmo  Samaj,  178 


INDEX 


341 


Prophets,    in    Israel,    263!.;    in 

Islam,  29 if. 
Proselytes,  of  the  Gate,  272;  of 

Righteousness,  312 
Proserpina,  127 
Psalms,  of  David,  291 
Psychology,  and  study  of  religion, 

26ff.;  in  Egypt,  93;  of  early 

Buddhism,  ic)2f. 
Ptah,  87,  88,  89 
Ptolemys,  in  Egypt,  90 
Punjab,  153 
Puranas,  172 
Purification,  in  animistic  religion, 

74;  among  Parsis,  150 
Purusha,  163 
Puto,  island,  233 
Pyramid  Texts,  92 
Pyramids,  as  tombs,  91 
Pythagoras,  119,  140 


)ias  (analogy),  in  Islam,  288 
)uietism,  in  Japan,  253f. 
iuindecemviri,  126 
)uirinus,  122 


Rahula,  181 

Rama,  171,  172 

Ramadan,  Fast  of,  290 

Rama-Krishna,  Paramahamsa,i77 

Ramanuja,  163 

Ramayana,  171 

Ram  Mohan  Ray,  177 

Rationalism,  among  Parsis,  151 

Re,  87,  89 

Re-Amon,  88 

Reciprocity,  in  Confucianism,  226 

Reformation,  Protestant,  318 

Reform,  in  India,  I75ff. 

Reform  school,  in  Judaism,  271, 

273,  274 
Re-Horus,  88 
Reinach,   Salomon,   definition  of 

religion,  i8f. 
Religion,  importance  of  study,  n; 

as  social,  22;  as  individual,  22; 

as  worship,  23;  as  value,  24f.; 

elements  of  definition  of,  25; 

necessity  of,  328 
Remmonkyo,  sect,  255 
Renaissance,  318 
Renunciation,  of  the  Buddha,  181 


Resurrection,  in  Islam,  292;  of 
Jesus  Christ,  311 

Revelation,  Book  of,  313 

Rhine  River,  121 

Rigveda,  154,  155,  156,  158,  171 

Rogers,  A.  K.,  on  impermanence, 
189 

Rogers,  R.  W.,  on  deities  of  Baby- 
lonia, 99 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  121 

Roman  Empire,  129;  Judaism  in, 
272 

Roman  Law,  121 

Roman  Republic,  124 

Romans,  107 

Rome,  55,  32 1,  3?2 

Russia,  pogroms  in,  266 

Ryobu-Shinto,  239f. 


Sabatier,   Auguste,   definition  of 

religion,  23 
Sabbath,  as  tabu,  68;  in  history 

of  Judaism,  267;  and  Jesus,  310 
Sacrifice,    in    animistic    religion, 

7of.;  origin  of,  72f.;  in  India, 


c, 

Sahara,  299,  301 

Saivites,  172,  173 

Sakti,  Saktism,  174 

Salvation,  in  India,  161  ;  in  Islam, 

294 

Samaria,  city  of,  98 
Samaveda,  158 

Sambhogakaya,  body  of  bliss,  203 
Samuel,  263 
Samurai,  244,  253 
Sanhedrin,  311 
Sankara,  162,  163 
Sankhya,  163 
Sanskrit,  154,  167,  171 
Sassanids,  144 
Sati  (Suttee),  166 
Saul,  263 

Scandinavians,  136 
Schechter,  Solomon,  on  schools  in 

Judaism,  271 
Schleiermacher,  definition  of   re- 

ligion, 21 
Scholastic  philosophy,  in  Islam, 

293 

Schools  of  the  Prophets,  263 
Schrader,  Otto,  on  Indo-European 
religion,  137!:. 


34* 


INDEX 


Science  of  religion,  possibility  of, 
14 

Science,  Western,  in  Japan,  254! 

Scotland,  136 

Scythians,  136 

Second  Punic  War,  128 

Sectarianism,  in  Hinduism,  171 

Sects,  in  Chinese  Buddhism,  231!; 
in  Japanese  Buddhism,  242f. 

Segetia,  122 

Seia,  122 

Sekhet,  87,  88 

Seljukian  Turks,  297^ 

Semites,  in  Egypt,  82 ;  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, 97;  northern  and  south- 
ern, 257 

Semitic  civilization,  258! 

Semitic  peoples,  257 

Senussi,  301 

Serapis,  91 

Sergi,  Giuseppe,  definition  of  re- 
ligion, 19 

Set,  95 

Sexual,  in  religion,  in  Babylonia, 
100;  laxity  in  Islam,  297 

Shamans,  74 

Shamash,  99 

Shammai,  273 

Shang-ti,  218,  219 

Sheik-ul-Islam,  291 

Shem,  257 

Shen,  214 

Sherif  of  Mecca,  302 

Shin  Huang-ti,  2i9f. 

Shiites,  300,  301 

Shingon,  sect,  243 

Shinran  Shonin,  244^,  246 

Shin  (Shin-shu),  sect,  244!,  247, 
250 

Shinto,  defined,  236;  revival  of, 
239;  mixed  with  Buddhism,  239; 
contrast  with  Buddhism,  241; 
and  Emperor  worship,  238f. 

Shotoku  Taishi,  210,  240 

Shun,  219 

Siam,  Buddhism  in,  200,  204,  205 

Sibylline  books,  126,  127,  128 

Siddhartha,  given  name  of  the 
Buddha,  180 

Signs,  Three  Fundamental,  of 
Buddhism,  i88ff. 

Sin,  99 

Sin,  in  Islam,  293f. 

Sinai,  261 


Sioux  family  of  Indians,  52 

Sippar,  99 

Siva,  170,  171, 172,  173 

Skandhas  (aggregates),  I92f.,  194 

Slave  trade,  and  Islam,  299 

Slavic  peoples,  136,  324 

Smith,  W.  R.,  on  ritual  and  be- 
lief, 69 

Sobieski,  King  John,  298 

Social  service,  in  Christianity,  320 

Sociological  theory  of  origin  of 
religion,  33f. 

Socrates,  nyf. 

Solar  pantheism,  in  Egypt,  89 

Sol  Invictus,  56,  133 

Soma,  155,  156 

Sopthill,  W.  E.,  on  early  religion 
in  China,  213;  on  Tao,  228 

Sophocles,  117 

Sorrow,  in  Buddhism,  igof. 

Soul,  as  breath,  51 

South  America,  325 

Southern  Buddhism,  200 

South  Seas,  300 

Spain,  295 

Speculation,  in  Mahayana,  2Oif. 

Spencer,  Herbert,  on  origin  of  re- 
ligion, 33,  54 

Spener,  319 

Spenta  Mamyu,  142 

Spinoza,  270 

Spirits,  in  animistic  religion, 

State  religion,  in  China,  2i7f. 

Statina,  122 

Stoicism,  119 

Stone- worship,  among  animists,  55 

Sublime  Porte,  see  Sultan 

Sudan,  299 

Sudras,  167 

Suffering,  in  Buddhism,  I9of. 

Sultan,  291,  302 

Sumatra,  47,  204 

Sumerians,  97;  Sumerian  deities, 

99 

Sun,  in  Chinese  animism,  2i4f. 

Sunna,  in  Islam,  287,  289,  300,  301 

Superior  man,  the  ideal  of  Con- 
fucius, 223 

Supreme  Beings,  in  animistic  re- 
ligion, 6 1 

Suras  of  Koran,  279 

Synagogue,  267,  272 

Syria,  132,  259,  277,  295,  315 

Sze-chuan,  229 


INDEX 


343 


Table  Prepared,  of  Joseph  Caro, 
269 

Tabu  (Taboo),  67 

Tada  Kanai,  on  Amida,  245$. 

Tagore,  Rabindranath,  as  Indian 
nationalist,  176 

Talmud,  268 

Tao,  denned,  228 

Taoism,  today,  229,  230,  233 

Taoist  popes,  229 

Tao  Teh  King,  of  Laocius,  227f. 

Tarquin,  126 

Taurobolium,  131 

Teh,  defined,  228 

Templum,  125 

Tendai,  sect,  242f.,  245 

Tenrikyo,  sect,  255 

Teutonic  peoples,  136,  324 

Thebes,  priests  of,  83;  Amon  god 
of,  85,  88,  89,  90 

Three  Religions  Conference,  255 

Theism,  in  India,  I7of. 

Theistic  Church,  in  India,  177 

Theosophy,  among  Parsis,  151 

Thomas,  N.  W.,  on  sacrifice,  7 if. 

Thoth,  88 

Thout,  86 

Thrace,  113 

Thuringia,  324 

Tiamat,  101 

Tiber  River,  125 

Tibet,  Buddhism  in,  2o6f . 

Tien,  218 

Tigris  River,  97 

Tishtrya,  147 

Todas,  67 

Tokugawa  family,  239;  and  Bud- 
dhism, 249f. 

Tolerance,  in  study  of  religion,  16 

Torah,  see  Law,  Jewish 

Torres  Straits,  magic  in,  77 

Totemism,  and  origin  of  religion, 
34;  defined,  65;  and  animal 
worship,  65;  in  Egypt,  86 

Tours,  Battle  of,  296 

Towers  of  Silence,  146,  150 

Toy,  C.  H.,  on  mana,  53 

Traditions,  in  Islam,  287f.,  292 

Transmigration,  in  Hinduism, 
I59f.,  1 60,  178;  in  Buddhism, 

193 

Tree-worship,  among  animists,  55 
Triads,  in  Egypt,  88;  in  Baby- 
lonia, 99 


Tribal  stage,  of  religious  develop- 
ment, 4of. 

Trimurti,  170 

Trinity,  Christian  doctrine  of, 
3i6f. 

Turanians,  140 

Turkestan,  296 

Turkey,  and  the  World  War,  291, 
302 ;  in  Europe,  298 

Turks,  in  Islam,  296,  297f. 

Tutilina,  122 

Twet,  94 

Twice-born,  in  India,  167 

Tylor,  E.  B.,  definition  of  re- 
ligion, 20;  on  origin  of  religion, 
3 if.;  on  fetishism,  59;  on  mono- 
theism among  animists,  62 

Typhon  (Set),  132 

Ulfjlas,  324 

Unitarianism,  among  Parsis,  151 

Universal  stage,  of  religious  de- 
velopment, 42f. 

Universalism,  in  Judaism,  272, 
273;  in  Christianity,  329f. 

University  of  Tokyo,  255 

Untouchables,  in  India,  1 68 

Upanishads,  160,  162 

Ur,  97,  99 

JJruk ,97,  99 

Ushebtis,  93 

Vairochana,  243 

Vaishnavas,  172 

Vaisyas,  167 

Varna,  167 

Varuna,  I54f. 

Vedanta,  162,  163 

Vedas,  159,  178 

Vendidad,  145 

Venus,  128 

Vesta,  122,  123 

Vienna,  298 

Vijnanavadins,  idealists,  203 

Vishnu,  154,  170,  171,  172,  173 

Vishtaspa,  140 

Vivekananda,  Swami,  177 

Vohu  Manah,  141 

Volga  River,  300 

Waddell,  L.  A.,  on  Tibetan  monas- 
ticism,  207 


344 


INDEX 


Wahabites,  301 

Wakan,  52 

Webb,  C.  C.  J.,  on  definition  of 
religion,  i6f. 

Weeks,  J.  H.,  on  fear  among 
animists,  69!:. 

Wellhausen,  Julius,  on  Arabian 
deities,  276 

Wesley,  John,  319 

Western  Church,  317 

Whitefield,  George,  319 

Widows,  in  India,  166 

Woman,  in  Buddhism,  183;  in 
China,  217;  in  Islam,  285;  in 
Hinduism,  l6sf. 

World  Missionary  Conference,  326 

World  War,  and  Christianity,  327 

Worship,  in  animistic  religion, 
68ff.;  motive  of,  69;  in  Greece, 
i  I2ff. ;  in  Rome,  I23f . ;  in  Hindu- 
ism, I57f.;  lack  of  in  early 
Buddhism,  190;  in  China, 

2l8f. 

Wright,  W.|fC,  definition  of  re- 
ligion, 22  « 
Wundt,  Wilhelm,  on  exogamy,  66 


Yahweh  (Jehovah),  261,  262,  263 

273,  312 
Yajurveda,  158 
Yama,  155 
Yao,  219 
Yashts,  147 
Yasna,  149 
Yellow  River,  80 
Yoshihito,  237 
Yii,  219 

Zabur,  291 

Zeller,  on  nunffler  of  animists,  47 

Zeid,  adopted  son  of  Mohammed, 

285,  amanuensis  of  Mohammed, 

286 

Zemzem,  276,  290 
Zen,  sect,  243f. 

Zeus,  109,  no,  in,  114,  117,  128 
Zi,  98 
Zoroaster  (Zarathustra),  135,  137; 

life  and  work,  139!;  teaching, 

I4if.;    contrasted    with    Jesus 

Christ,  141 ;  limitations,  143, 146 
Zoroastrianism,     104;    contrasted 

with  Hinduism,  I39f.;  weakness 

of,  1 5 if. 


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